The Urn Of The Ages
by Bill K
Summary: The Senshi travel to the wintry north to stop an ancient talisman from being invoked and ultimate power being bestowed upon a murderous monster.
1. A Pleasant Memory

THE URN OF THE AGES  
Chapter 1: "A Pleasant Memory"  
A Sailor Moon fanfic

By Bill K.

* * *

Sailor Moon and all related characters are (c)2013 by Naoko Takeuchi and are used withoutpermission, but with respect. Story is (c)2013 by Bill K.

* * *

It was 1995. She, like Usagi and the others, was fifteen. And she was so sure of herself at fifteen.

They had met on a Sunday to just hang out because the five of them enjoyed each others company. There was a bond between the five of them, forged from the adversity they seemed to face on a regular basis anymore. But it was also forged from the fact that each one of them had gaps in their souls that the others filled. As the five friends walked along the street in the commercial district, Rei Hino glanced at her friends, laughing and trading gossip and aspirations, and thought that there was honestly no other place she would rather be at that moment.

"Anybody up to some lunch?" Minako suggested. "We're close enough to a McDonalds that I can hear the fries calling to me."

"Don't we have a better choice?" Ami grimaced.

"Please," sighed Minako. "No lectures on nutrition and high cholesterol."

"How about a lecture on how the people in there wouldn't know good food if they were slapped with it?" Makoto offered. "It's bad enough we eat at the Crown."

"I'm sure they try their best," Ami said sympathetically.

"I made mud pies when I was two that tasted better than that stuff," Makoto smirked.

"SACRILEGE!" howled Minako. "Their fries are like manholes from the gods!"

"That's 'manna'," Ami scowled.

"What about you, Usagi?" Rei asked, turning to their always ebullient friend. "I figured you'd already have a place in line at the mere mention of food."

Usagi grimaced and it was clear to everyone that she was embarrassed about something. Knowing her as long as they had, it wasn't difficult to figure out why she was embarrassed.

"Are you out of money again?" Rei demanded with exasperation.

"Well," Usagi replied, shrinking into herself.

"What did you blow it on this time?" chuckled Minako.

Usagi only grimaced again. She could feel Rei's withering glare without looking.

"Usagi, you really must learn to manage your finances more efficiently," Ami said, her frustration with her friend creeping into her voice. "This could become a dangerous habit if you allow it to continue into adulthood."

"Well, I figure by then I'll have married Mamo-Chan and he'll be a rich doctor by then," Usagi began, then shied. "And then it - - won't matter so much."

"Provided he doesn't wise up and realize what a little scatter-brain you are," Rei scowled.

"DON'T EVEN THINK THAT, REI HINO!" bellowed Usagi.

"Hon', you gotta learn some self-control," Makoto counseled. "You can't just give in to every whim like that."

"Well, I thought it was a good idea at the time," Usagi whimpered.

Ami sighed. "Come on, Usagi. I'll treat you. I wouldn't want you to die of starvation."

"Like that'll happen," Rei snickered. Usagi shot her tongue at the Miko.

"Hey, I blew all my money, too," Minako said suddenly. "You want to treat me?"

"Nice try, Blondie," Makoto smirked and cuffed the blonde in the back of the head.

As the five girls entered the fast food restaurant, a man was coming out the other door. He was shabbily dressed and had several days growth of beard. Each of them could tell to some degree that he was probably one of Tokyo's less fortunate, living on the street due to some misfortune of life or some personal demon that had conquered him. Reflexively they all looked away, except for Usagi, and reflexively he looked them over, trying to judge if a handout could be had. When he spotted Usagi, however, his face lit up.

"Young Miss!" he exclaimed and began bowing profusely to her, clutching the bag of food in one hand as he pressed them to his forehead.

"I thought that was you," Usagi smiled. This drew curious stares from her companions. Did she know this unfortunate? "Got your meal, huh?"

"Yes!" he nodded, waves of gratitude rolling from him. "I know it's not much, Young Miss, but thank you again! I was in really desperate straits. I hadn't eaten in a while and I'd had a really bad run of luck. I-I didn't know what I was going to do. And when you offered to help me, well," and the man paused a moment, emotion getting the better of his capacity for speech, "well I think maybe my luck's about to change."

"Maybe it is," beamed Usagi.

"And even if it isn't," he sniffed, "it's - - reassuring to know that there are still some kind people in the world."

He bowed to her one more time and then turned and left, cradling the bag of food against his abdomen like it was life itself. Usagi watched him go, waving and smiling, then turned to her friends. She found them all looking dumbfounded at her.

"That's what you blew your money on?" Minako whispered, amazed. "You gave it all to him?"

"He looked like he needed help," Usagi shrugged innocently.

"Why didn't you say anything?"

"I didn't want to seem like I was bragging."

"Hon'," Makoto began, reeling from what she'd just witnessed. "The way we were all ragging on you. Hon', I-I'm sorry."

"You didn't know," Usagi replied cheerfully. "And you're right. I do need to have more self-control."

"Still, we did jump to some very harsh conclusions," Ami said contritely. "We should have had more faith in you."

"Well it's not like I haven't given you reasons," Usagi offered.

"No," Rei interjected. She was very upset, with herself and the others. "We SHOULD have had more faith."

"Rei, it's all right," Usagi told her. "You were all just trying to make me a better person in your own ways. I understand. Friends do that."

"I wish you'd stop being so nice about this and just smack me," frowned Minako. "You're just making me feel worse this way." Then she smirked cynically. "Unless that was your master plan."

Usagi began to sputter.

"Blondie!" growled Makoto. "Don't pay any attention to her. She's addled."

"We are all very, truly sorry, Usagi," Ami summed up.

"Truly sorry," Rei added.

"OK," Usagi smiled. Then her eyes lit up. "If you really want to make it up to me, there's this beautiful dress I saw in this shop."

Her four friends looked at each other. They exchanged a silent communication.

"Well, I guess we're going hungry until dinner," Minako grinned in surrender.

"I WAS KIDDING!" howled Usagi, aghast.

* * *

"Rei?"

Rei shook herself and looked to the voice. Usagi was staring at her, perplexed. It was 2012, not 1995, and they were all at the shrine. Ami and Makoto were looking at her with mild concern, while Minako as usual was smirking like a hyena.

"Sorry," Rei mumbled, still searching her thoughts for why she had drifted away. "I got lost in a memory."

"Last time you were out with Derek?" Minako suggested lewdly. Usagi flushed while Ami's eyes sought the ceiling.

"Classing up the room again, eh Blondie?" Makoto quipped.

"Ignore her," Rei sighed. "I was thinking about that time Usagi gave her allowance to some homeless guy so he could get a hot meal."

"Oh yeah," Makoto grinned nostalgically. "What made you think of that?"

"I don't know," Rei whispered. "I hope it's not a premonition."

"Well you need to concentrate!" Usagi said impatiently. "We've got a wedding to plan!"

"Look who's talking," muttered Rei.

"Usagi," sighed Ami. "Hayami and I just want a simple ceremony. The union is the important thing here, not the trappings."

"Amiiiiiiiiii!" wailed Usagi. "You're getting married! Haven't you dreamed about this your entire life?"

"No," Ami replied.

Usagi stared at her like she was an alien.

"Usagi, Hayami and I would be perfectly content being married at the license bureau. The only reason I'm having a ceremony at all is out of courtesy toward you and Rei."

"I can see it now," Minako chuckled. "Do you, Mr. Boring, take this woman to be your lawfully wedded wife?"

"Who said I was doing a Western ceremony?" Rei demanded with mock seriousness.

"Hayami is NOT BORING!" Ami bristled.

"Blondie, don't make me put you in the corner," Makoto added.

"NONE OF YOU ARE TAKING THIS SERIOUSLY!" screeched Usagi. "Ami, we've got to get you a gown, and we've got to hire a place for the reception and . . ." Usagi's cell phone went off, interrupting her train of thought. "Hello? Hey, Shingo. What's up?"

"I knew we should have eloped," Ami scowled.

"Well if you're going to have the ceremony, you might as well have the formal kimono and hood," Rei suggested. "You did want traditional, didn't you?"

"Frankly, I didn't want anything," Ami admitted. "But if you're more comfortable with a traditional ceremony, we'll do that."

"Ames," Makoto said, astonished, "I know you don't want a fuss, but you're allowed a little extravagance. After all, you only get married once."

"Twice," muttered Minako.

"She's not you," Rei jabbed. "If you don't want a traditional ceremony, I can do Western."

"Yeah?" Minako quipped. "Do it, Ami. I really want to hear her say 'Dearly Beloved' through clenched teeth."

"No, traditional is fine," Ami replied. "As I said, I only want what's easiest for everybody. The fact that I'm marrying Hayami is the important thing."

"Well if it's going to be traditional, remember: Only apple juice for Usagi," Minako suggested.

Everyone else nodded gravely.

"I'm sorry!" Usagi pleaded as she closed her cell phone. "I've got to run. Shingo's got some emergency and he needs my help." Then she looked straight at Ami and pointed. "But I WILL make time to go gown shopping with you."

"We're going traditional ceremony, Usagi," Rei informed her. "No gown."

Usagi turned to her friend with a stricken look.

"No gown, Usagi," Ami shrugged.

"Oh, Ami!" Usagi wailed. "Where did I go wrong?"

* * *

Myoga Harada folded his arms over his chest and momentarily huddled against the side of a building to escape the chill of the blowing wind. His coat, though old and threadbare, still gave him enough protection to survive Asahikawa in February. But it didn't give him much comfort.

"Face it, Myoga," the tall, gaunt, shabby man mumbled to himself as he waited out the gust of wind. "You should have gone south a lot sooner than this. Winter wouldn't be nearly as bad in Kobe or Yokahama, or even Tokyo. It was just bad luck you got picked up on that shoplifting rap."

Harada spotted someone passing by and moved from shelter to intercept him, to ask for any charity the man could spare. But the man just quickened his pace and Harada knew there was no help to be had from him.

"I admit the city jail is a lot warmer than this," Harada mused as he pressed forward down the street, searching for possibilities. "But it's risky, too. Too many criminals."

The next street found a restaurant nestled in with some other businesses. Harada felt in the pocket of his well-worn, grubby pants to the few yen he'd managed to scrape together. For a moment he thought about going in and spending those few yen on something to eat, a course his stomach readily endorsed.

"No," he shook his head. "You need to save them. You need to get enough to get transportation south, and soon. If you stay in this cold much longer, you're going to die here."

Cautiously venturing to the back of the restaurant, Harada lifted the lid of the dumpster and peeked inside. He had traveled north to Asahikawa back in June to escape the summer heat of Tokyo. That had been hard enough with the transportation routes still unreliable due to the earthquake and tsunami of the spring. And he had taken extra caution to avoid the Fukushima area. None of that radiation he'd heard about was going to get him. But the economy in Asahikawa was depressed, suffering the effects of the disaster, and pickings had been slimmer than usual. And then the police had nabbed him when in a moment of desperation and lack of caution he'd tried to steal a package of instant rice from a market. It had all conspired to leave him stranded in the north during the winter, something he was usually able to avoid during all of his years on the streets.

"Wouldn't mind seeing Tokyo at this time of year," Harada thought as he munched on the remains of a discarded entree. "Tokyo has always been lucky for me. Kind people live in Tokyo. Angels." And he thought back once again to the one particular angel he'd met fifteen or so years ago with the bluest eyes and the most wonderful, uplifting, charitable smile. Other people had treated him to a meal over the years, but she was the only one who had ever filled him with hope.

Some sense, probably honed from decades on the streets, told Harada that he was no longer alone in that alley behind the restaurant. Turning, he found a woman standing about fifteen feet from him. She was young, with long black hair the fell straight down her back and blew with the wintry gusts. Her skin was milky white and smooth as a snow drift. She was so pale that, save for penetrating emerald green eyes framed by deep black lashes, and lips so red that they seemed unearthly, it was almost like she was invisible. The woman wore a long, flowing dress and a simple shawl around her shoulders, held to her bosom by slender milky white hands.

Embarrassed and reluctant to be caught up in a confrontation, Harada turned and began to steal away.

"Don't go," the woman requested of him.

Harada didn't want to stop. An inner voice told him that nothing good would come of stopping, that the safest course was to put as much distance between him and this situation as he could. While there were angels in the world, there were devils, too. Devils that betrayed your trust, that took the greatest you had to offer and then abandoned you. Harada relied upon himself because he could trust himself. He only relied on other people when he had to, for money or protection. And he got burned over the years more often than he cared to remember.

But he stopped. And he turned back to this woman. She was closer now and she seemed even more unearthly than before. Harada didn't think it was possible for anyone to be as utterly beautiful as this woman was, but there she was. It couldn't be real. That had to be it. He had been overcome by the cold, or else the food he'd scavenged had been tainted in some way. He was lying in the alley, sick and delirious and dreaming of this inhumanly beautiful woman.

Then her hand reached out and caressed his stubbly cheek. Harada swallowed. It was so light, so soft. His skin tingled where she touched him. The woman eased up against him and he could feel her chest give against his. Her eyes, her lips were hypnotic. He had known women before, back when he was part of society. But this was like no woman he had ever felt, ever seen, ever experienced. Her lips parted ever so slightly, inviting him.

And it had been so long.

Her lips pressed to his and Harada felt a passion swell that he hadn't felt in - - ever. His focus became solely this woman. The feel of her against him, her arms folded around him, sent a spike to his pulse. There was a passion to her kiss that belied the serene manner she had previously exhibited. It was a ravenous kiss, a kiss of desire long denied and finally given expression. Her scent filled his nostrils, intoxicating him. Emboldened, Harada began to kiss back. Why she wanted him, he couldn't fathom. She was as close to perfection as he could ever imagine and he was a broken man wearing his years on the street like a coat he could never take off. But she wanted him, that much he could feel, and as her mouth lingered on his, the question became less and less important.

It was all so exciting, so wonderful. And then, in an instant, it was different. Harada could sense himself slipping away. Confusion caused his passions to crash. He didn't understand for a moment, and then he did. She was doing it. She was draining him, sucking the life out of him. He could feel himself fading, like he was washing down a drain. With the strength he had remaining, he tried to push her away. Instead she clung more tightly, locking her arms around his neck and upper shoulders. And all the while her lips pressed to his.

Panic ensued. Harada struggled to escape from this mystery woman, but she was locked onto him with a grip of iron. Convulsions took control of him. His senses swam. It all became too much to even focus on what he wanted to do, let alone do it. Who was he? What was he? Why was he here? Why was it so cold?

Was this the end?

Asahikawa had been a string of bad luck from the moment he'd gotten there. He should have heeded the warnings and gotten out sooner. But he didn't, and now he was going to die here.

Continued in Chapter 2


	2. Shingo's Significant Other

THE URN OF THE AGES  
Chapter 2: "Shingo's Significant Other"  
A Sailor Moon fanfic

By Bill K.

* * *

Haruka Tenoh sat in the restaurant absently eating her lunch and continuing what had become one of her favorite past times: Conversing with her sister, Junko. Conversing with Junko made Haruka, now thirty-six and conscious that her youth was beginning to slip away, feel young again. Listening to Junko talk about her life and her perspective on life in general gave Haruka insight into the part of her youth she'd missed, from having to grow up too soon due to running away and later being forced to assume the responsibility of being a senshi.

It was clear what Junko got out of their relationship, aside from a sympathetic ear. Haruka's resemblance to her gave Junko a connection to her, and yet Haruka was everything Junko wasn't: Famous, successful, independent, and a warrior for justice besides. But Junko was everything Haruka hadn't been at eighteen: Stable, secure and in possession of an optimism, despite her deprecating protests, that made life fun. Haruka hadn't known that kind of optimism until she'd met Michiru. If Haruka was Junko's "could be", Junko was Haruka's "could have been".

"So you got accepted into college, huh?" Haruka commented on the news her younger sister had slipped into their conversation. "Not surprising. I always thought you were pretty bright. You figured out my secret, after all."

"Well it wasn't as easy as it sounds," Junko shrugged. "I missed out on Tokyo University and a few other schools I was aiming at. That entrance exam is a lot tougher than I thought it would be." As a concession to the more formal surroundings they had met in, Junko had foregone the usual jeans and midriff-baring blouse for an actual dress. It had drawn an amused look from Haruka, but thankfully she hadn't made any remarks.

"What school?"

"Niigata University," Junko answered. Haruka couldn't tell if she was disappointed by it or just being non-committal.

"All the way over on the west coast?" Haruka inquired mildly, hiding her distaste for the separation such a move would entail.

"Best I could do," Junko shrugged. "It's a good school."

"Niigata's kind of wet," mumbled Haruka.

"So's Tokyo," Junko replied. She could tell Haruka was aware of the implications, implications she didn't like anymore than her sister did.

"What are you going to study?"

"Education major," Junko told her.

"Going to be a teacher?"

"Math teacher. I've always been pretty good with numbers. I figure it'll be better than working in a bank like Dad wants."

"You don't sound too hyped," Haruka judged.

"I'm eighteen. I have to do something with my life," Junko responded. "I can't be a bum. Mom would blame you for it. I can't sing worth a crap, so being an idol is out." She shot Haruka a playful grin. "I don't know enough about cars to be part of your pit crew."

"Is teaching what you want to do?" Haruka asked. Junko shrugged. "So what do you want to do?" prodded Haruka. Junko thought a moment.

"I don't know. Make a difference," she replied. "Like you. But I don't know where to get a magic wand that can turn me into a Sailor Senshi. And, I guess, inspiring some kid into being the world's next math genius is making a difference, in its own way."

"This doesn't have anything to do with your parents, does it? Going away to school?" Haruka asked.

"No," Junko shook her head. "I was kind of hoping to stay in Tokyo so I could be near them - - and you. But maybe this will be good for me."

"They supporting you in this?"

"Well, Dad's a little bummed that I'm not going to take business and finance," Junko admitted, "and Mom wishes I was going to a local university." A smile crept onto the girl's face. "But, yeah, they're OK with it. I think they were afraid I was going to go into sports management or go to a trade school and take auto mechanics." She puffed out her chest in imitation of her father. "'Teaching ist der very fine profession und you will be a fine teacher!'"

"That sounds just like him. Well if that's what you want to do, I'll support you any way I can," Haruka assured her. "I'll even drive the Reventon out to Niigata during the off season and visit you."

"No propositioning my classmates," Junko warned her with mock sternness. "I know you."

"Well then there's no point in going," Haruka replied with a shrug.

* * *

Usagi walked up to the apartment door and pushed the buzzer. It was a typical Japanese lower income apartment, in that it was presentable and probably comfortable, but small and boxy and utilitarian rather than plush and showy. It was the same type of apartment she and Mamoru had shared before she had established herself as a manga artist and he was still working impossible hours as an intern. Since Shingo worked as part of the sound crew at a local entertainment venue, it was all he could afford. And now he was supporting two.

The news that had come from him a few months ago had frankly surprised Usagi, but in a happy way. Shingo had never had much luck with women, starting with his ill-fated crush on Ami. Either they had grown bored with him or else he would grow bored with them. Nothing lasted. He never seemed ready to commit. Ever the meddler when it came to romance, Usagi had pushed more than her share of prospective mates his way, but nothing ever seemed to come from the gesture other than the occasional loud suggestion that she mind her own business.

Then Yuriko came along. They had met by accident behind the venue, when he had been moving some sound equipment. All Shingo could talk about was how beautiful she was, how interesting, how she made him feel. The relief Usagi felt, because this couldn't be anything else but love, made her feel good. Shingo may have been her greatest adversary during childhood, but he was still family and she only wanted what was best for him. And Yuriko seemed to be best for him.

The door opened and Shingo ushered her in. He was still thin as a rail, still sleepy-eyed and still a man of few words. But the eyes beneath the tousled brown hair weren't guarded any longer. There was a contentment to them that was gratifying to Usagi. As she came in, her eyes moved to Yuriko rising from a far chair. When she first met Yuriko, Usagi found her amazing. She had assumed Shingo was exaggerating the woman's beauty. But Usagi had been astounded by the woman's appearance, and just a tiny bit jealous. She possessed long, flowing black hair that seemed spun of silk, and smooth, supple skin as pale as a snowfall. Her eyes were emerald green and framed by black lashes, and stood out from her pale complexion in a way that held you. Her mouth was ruby red, lush and full. She looked like an ancient Japanese porcelain figurine come to life. And yet, rather than be haughty or disdainful, Yoriko had the most disarming manner about her. Even now, months later, Shingo seemed to hover around her and draw solace from her very presence.

"It's nice to see you again, Yoriko-Chan," Usagi smiled. Then she grew serious. "Shingo said there was a problem?"

"Well," Yoriko began, eyes cast down. "I don't know what you could possibly do to help. But Shingo thinks I should tell you."

"I, um," Shingo spoke up conspiratorially, "thought that if you heard it, we could run it by Dad and he could tell Sailor Moon - - since he's their official photographer." And he silently tried to communicate that it was a cover story, since he knew her double identity. It was a gamble, knowing his sister as he did.

"Would it really be necessary for Sailor Moon to become involved?" Yoriko asked uneasily.

"It's OK, Yoriko," Shingo told her supportively. "You don't have to be afraid of Sailor Moon."

"What's troubling you?" Usagi inquired. "If it's something I can help with, I'd only be too glad to do it."

Yoriko fell silent. Shingo and Usagi both waited for her to continue, but Yoriko remained silent.

"It had something to do with a woman Yoriko is - - familiar with," Shingo explained finally. "Yoriko thinks that this woman may be planning to do some terrible things up north in the northern prefectures. She'd like to see this woman stopped before she does too much damage to herself and to the public."

"Do you know where up north?" Usagi asked.

"I," Yoriko began, then hesitated. "I believe it was Asahikawa."

"What's she doing?"

Yoriko expelled a long breath. "Kagura," she began, "has possibly come into possession of an ancient artifact. It is called The Urn Of The Ages. Perhaps you've heard of it?"

Usagi only stared blankly.

"Apparently not," Yoriko surmised. "You may find this difficult to believe, but this artifact is said to be able to convey great and terrible power onto the one who possesses it," and Yoriko seemed to grow even more pale, "after the possessor sacrifices one hundred souls to it."

"That's terrible!" gasped Usagi.

"Perhaps it's only a legend," Yoriko demurred. "Perhaps I'm being worried about nothing. It's just," and Yoriko paused again from the pain confessing all of this was causing her, "Kagura is obsessed with living forever. It consumes her. And she's obsessed with power, because it lets her control her own life. She's not the one I used to know." She glanced at Shingo. "Or maybe I've changed."

"And you think she'll use this Urn Of The Ages to hurt people, just to get what she wants?" Usagi asked. Yoriko nodded, obviously torn by having to report someone she knew, but just as unnerved by the prospect of this person's actions. "Then I'll get right on it!"

Yoriko looked up at her curiously, while Shingo stared with muted exasperation.

"Um, telling Dad!" Usagi sputtered. "So he can relay it to Sailor Moon. Because that's the only connection I could possibly have to Sailor Moon, after all. Hahahahahaha!"

Yoriko's expression returned to uneasiness. That's when Usagi reached out and grasped both of her hands. The woman looked at her with surprise.

"I know you feel bad telling on a friend," Usagi said to her. "But if that friend is hurting people, it's something you have to do, for her sake as well as everyone else's. If she's hurting people, all she's really doing is hurting herself. And if doing this means she can be stopped before she destroys herself, then you're saving her."

After a few moments consideration, Yoriko smiled timidly.

* * *

At full speed, Akiko Ikegami ran down the path of the Shrine on Sendai Hill. Her brother, two years younger and still smaller despite being a boy, chased her with little hope of catching her. No matter how much he grew, he never could seem to outgrow his older sister, who was herself growing into a Amazon. The fact that he seemed to be destined to be a smaller, thinner boy concerned his mother, Makoto Kino Ikegami, but not as much as his sister growing to be an Amazon concerned her. None of that mattered at the moment as the two children ran through the sacred grounds of the shrine with youthful abandon.

"Do you remember EVER having that much energy?" Makoto marveled as she watched over her two children from the step to the shrine. Rei Hino, the shrine priest, stood next to her.

"A long, long time ago," smirked Rei. "So how's the restaurant coming?"

"Slower than we'd like," admitted Makoto. "We're trying to do a lot of the interior work ourselves and save our money for when we have to hire contractors, like for plumbing and electric wiring and the gas appliance installations. But we can only work weekends, because San-San has to put in forty hours on the dock." She sighed. "We're hoping for a June opening. Any way I can get you to be there to bless the opening?"

"Just name the day," Rei replied happily. "I'll even do it for the price of a free dinner - - provided Usagi leaves any food for anyone else that day."

Makoto chuckled. "Sounds like a deal. So how are you and that American baseball player doing?"

"Derek usually spends most of the off season in America, since he doesn't play winter ball anymore," Rei explained. "He visits relatives and talks to American ball clubs about possibly getting another chance to play with them. He e-mails a lot and calls occasionally."

"See, technology does have its good side," Makoto teased. "You miss him?"

"Sure," Rei admitted. "Derek's fun to be around." She grew serious. "It's just a question of how much longer he'll be around."

"As in?"

"Derek would never admit this, but he's probably only got a few more years left in his playing career," Rei outlined. "And then he's going to have to make a decision on what he wants to do with the rest of his life - - and where he wants to do it. And if I'm still holding him at arm's length when that day comes, he may decide his prospects lay back in America."

"You still think you won't be able to trust him a few years from now?" Makoto asked.

"You know I can be pretty stubborn," Rei mused. "Derek and I were close this past year. A lot closer than I expected us to be. But there was still a gulf between us. I sensed it and I think he did, too. Maybe it will always be there."

"Rei, you're just going to have to decide what's more important: Him or your pride," Makoto advised her. "I've told you that before."

"Yes, you have. But it seems a lot easier when you say it."

Rei was alerted to it first when she heard Deimos loudly chattering in the trees above them. Deimos could often be an early warning system, as the bird distrusted all humans except for Rei and Usagi. Makoto turned when Rei looked and they both saw Minako exiting the shrine. The kids saw her, too, and ran up just as Minako reached her friends.

"Aunt Minako! Aunt Minako!" Akiko bellowed as she ran up.

"Hey, Akiko," beamed Minako. "Did you like the CD I gave you?"

"Do I? It's great! I play it all the time!" Akiko exclaimed.

"I can vouch for that," Makoto sighed. "I'm ready to break the thing."

"Peasant," huffed Minako. Then she knelt down to Ichiro. "Hey, Ichiro. How's the cutest guy in the whole world doing?"

"I'm fine, Aunt Minako," Ichiro replied. "I got a one hundred on my last math test."

"Hey, great! That means you're already smarter than your mom," chuckled Minako. Makoto reached down and flipped Minako's hair. The kids ran off and Minako stood up to face her friends.

"Done with your phone call?" Rei asked.

"Yep! Just got off the phone with my agent," Minako nodded happily.

"Well, you haven't run off to be with the entertainment elite, so you must want a fortune reading," Rei observed.

"Read that, did you?" Minako asked.

"Didn't have to. The only time you ever show up around here is for Senshi meetings and to have your fortune told. You were the only one of the group not here for New Year's. Even Setsuna managed to be here."

"Were you having cake or something?" Minako asked. Rei read she was teasing, so she didn't reply. "Anyway, I just accepted a part in a new film. It's going to be directed by Narita Tomogawa!"

"See, your luck's beginning to turn," Makoto nodded. "And you thought you were never going to get an acting job again after 'Island Princess' got canceled."

"When did I ever say that?" Minako gasped dramatically. Rei and Makoto smirked. "That earthquake benefit I got going last June gave me a lot of good buzz. Which wasn't why I did it, but which turned out to be an ancillary benefit. And Tomogawa-San really fought for me, too! The studio heads didn't want to use me, but he insisted."

"Pretty good money?" Makoto asked.

"Good enough," Minako shrugged. "I would have done it for nothing, just for the prestige of acting in one of Tomogawa-San's pictures. But don't tell the studio that."

"And you want to know if it's the right move?" Rei guessed.

"No, it's right," Minako countered. "I want to know if something - - or someone - - is going to gum it up! This is a critical time in my career. If this part goes over well, I'm back making movies. If not, I'm stuck with just singing, and that could end with one bad album. I want to be a multi-threat idol again, so I want to be prepared to ward off anything that'll louse this up for me." She smiled sweetly at Rei. "And that's where you come in, Oh Seer To The Stars."

"You're the only entertainer I read for," Rei said.

"And your point?" Minako asked. Then she fluttered her eyelashes.

"Get inside," Rei sighed. Minako flashed a lighthearted grin at Makoto and headed into the shrine.

"Well, I'll leave you to your work," Makoto said. "OK, kids! We're going!"

"Stop by anytime, Makoto," Rei nodded. "And bring the kids, especially if they need their exercise."

But before they could disengage, Rei's senshi communicator went off. Puzzled, Rei answered it as Makoto looked on.

"Rei, would it be OK if we meet tonight?" Usagi asked. "Shingo tipped me to something that we might have to look into."

"Sure, Usagi," Rei nodded. "After six, as usual?"

"That's great. Now I have to contact the others."

"Makoto and Minako are still here. I'll pass it along." She closed the connection and looked up at Makoto.

"Know what that's about? You usually have a clue before the rest of us do," Makoto said.

"Not this time," Rei replied, the familiar presence of battle looming over her.

* * *

Yoriko lay in bed, staring up at the ceiling. Shingo was next to her, sleeping. It was one of the few nights he didn't have to work and she was grateful for his presence next to her. Their night had been wonderful, for him. She had been distracted.

And now sleep wouldn't come to her. Yoriko worried. Shingo had told her that telling others of what she knew was the right thing to do, and she believed him. Shingo had told her that involving Sailor Moon would not be a threat to her, and she wanted to believe him. In the months she had known him, Shingo Tsukino had become very dear to her.

But Yoriko couldn't help but worry whether by involving Sailor Moon she had set in motion the eventual end of everything she had achieved.

Continued in Chapter 3


	3. Legendary Secret

THE URN OF THE AGES  
Chapter 3: "Legendary Secret"  
A Sailor Moon fanfic

By Bill K.

* * *

"And to please Usagi, we're having a wedding ceremony at the Shrine on Sendai Hill," Ami told her fiancé Hayami as they sat in a small tea house around the corner from Tokyo's performing arts theater. "And to please Rei, it will be a traditional ceremony," and Ami sighed in frustration, "so that's why you'll need a formal kimono."

"Well, that's . . ." Hayami began, pushing his black frame glasses up his nose. He didn't finish the thought.

"I know. I'm sorry," Ami apologized. "But Rei is very traditional, and Usagi is a hopeless romantic, and I didn't want to risk hurting their feelings."

"It's all right," Hayami reassured her. "Your friends are important to you. It won't be that much of an effort to accommodate them." He reached out and grasped her hands in his. "As long as we end up married, it really doesn't matter to me how we get there."

"Very pragmatic," Ami nodded with admiration.

"I'll just have to buy a formal kimono, I guess," Hayami continued. "I've never really had much use for them before. I've never been a big believer in ancient Japanese traditions."

"This presents a bigger problem, though," Ami said thoughtfully. "It would be a terrible insult for me not to invite Mother to the ceremony. Plus as my closest living relative now that Dad is gone, Rei will probably want her there to speak for me at the ceremony." Ami's hand unconsciously began massaging her temple. "But our relationship is so strained at the moment that I really don't want to deal with her."

"You don't think she'll cause a scene at the ceremony, do you?"

"No. I trust Mother's ability to behave as required during the ceremony," Ami replied. "It's just the time leading up to the ceremony. Mother has been so irrational about my choice of careers, which I believe is merely a psychological cover for her inability to accept my defiance of her wishes, that I can't be assured she won't attempt to take control of the ceremony in an effort to re-establish psychological dominance over me."

"Ami," Hayami began carefully, "I know I'm an outside observer in this situation. Maybe that allows me to make an impartial judgment of it. I've met with your mother a couple of times . . ."

"You have? When was this?"

"When we first began dating publicly," Hayami told her. "Your mother visited me one evening at my apartment. We had a pleasant conversation. She seemed interested to know what type of person I was."

"Hayami, I apologize for that," Ami scowled, looking down in frustration.

"It's not necessary. I think she only did it because she's concerned about you," Hayami said. He adjusted his glasses. "I thought of her as very polite and mannerly - - although I admit she can be a little intimidating at times. I don't think she does it on purpose. But I can understand why you're so intimidated by her efforts."

"I'm not intimidated by . . ." Ami began, then stopped. Logically what he was saying was true, as much as she hated to admit it.

"I could see how accurate some of your descriptions of her were," Hayami continued. "She strikes me as extremely intelligent and very driven. I can imagine her being disappointed in someone who isn't as driven as she is."

"You see my dilemma, then," Ami commented.

"But maybe you don't see all of it," Hayami proposed. Ami looked at him curiously, in that manner she had whenever she was confronted by something she hadn't thought of. "How much of the dispute between you and your mother is her intransigence and how much is your fear of once again being dominated by her? You keep her at arm's length because you're afraid that if you let her get too close you'll lose the independence you have."

Ami had no reply. She was still working the hypothesis over in her mind.

"I don't think you have to worry about that, Ami," he smiled. "You're strong enough to stand your ground against her without pushing her away. I also think you regret what's happened between the two of you. I think she does, too."

"Well if you think it, it must be true," Ami said with some small, welling pride, "because I've always been impressed with your reasoning ability." She thought a moment. "Out of curiosity, what do you think her impression of you was?"

"I don't think she was particularly impressed with me," Hayami admitted with some embarrassment. "Although she didn't seem to have any major objections to me, either. Maybe this is another instance where she thinks you could do better."

"If that's her conclusion," Ami smiled, "then I think she has once again made an error in judgment."

* * *

That evening, the five senshi gathered in the shrine, along with Luna and Artemis. Everyone was curious to know what problem had motivated Usagi to call them together. Once they were seated, Usagi began.

"Well, Yoriko - - that's Shingo's girlfriend - - she's really, really gorgeous and Shingo is really in love with her. You all should meet her. You'd love her. Anyway, she has this, well, person she knows or knew or something. And she's in Asahikawa. And she's got this urn or something, you know? And Yoriko says she's hurting people with it! We have to do something!"

The others looked at each other, perplexed.

"What exactly is she doing with this urn?" Luna asked with a raised eyebrow. "Striking people about the head and shoulders with it?"

"NO!" huffed Usagi. Artemis and Minako snickered to each other.

"OK, is this Yoriko in Asahikawa, or is the friend in Asahikawa?" Makoto asked.

"The friend! Yoriko's here in Tokyo!" Usagi replied.

"And this friend is hurting people?" Makoto continued. Usagi nodded. "How is she hurting them?"

"Well," Usagi began, "I forgot to ask that."

"So did you find out her name?" Minako ventured.

"Kagura," Usagi said proudly.

"Kagura what?" Minako prodded. Usagi looked sick again. "Usagi, there's probably a hundred Kaguras in Asahikawa."

"Do you know why she's hurting people?" Ami inquired.

"Um, it's got something to do with the urn," moaned Usagi. "I forget. It's just that Yoriko seemed so upset. It has to be something really bad. And if this Kagura is hurting people, we need to stop it!"

"Agreed, Usagi, but we need to know what the problem is, first," Ami told her.

"Usagi," Rei spoke up, quiet and thoughtful. "Did this urn have a name? Was it old? Did it have an inscription?"

"Yoriko didn't say if it had an inscription, but she did say it was old and legendary. What did she call it?" Usagi pondered. "Aging Urn or Urn Of The Aged or . . ."

"The Urn Of The Ages?" Rei asked anxiously.

"Yeah, that was it!"

"Oh, boy," Rei gasped softly. That got everyone's attention. Ami instantly pulled out her laptop and began typing.

"What is it?" Makoto asked.

"The Urn Of The Ages," Rei related, "is supposed to be an ancient vessel of power. It's said to have been formed by an ancient Chinese wizard from the skull of a great Tiangu that he defeated in battle. The Urn was supposed to focus his powers and magnify them, allowing him to overthrow the Emperor and rule over all of China."

"But the Emperor," Ami said, picking up the story as she read from her laptop, "got wind of the plot and had the wizard, Li Che Yang, assassinated before he could consummate the plot. According to this retelling of the legend, the spell reversed upon Li Che Yang and the Urn consumed his power and life energy. It was said that it was the Tiangu's revenge for his defeat."

"Man, this would make a Hell of a movie," Minako commented.

"It's said," Rei added, "that whoever possesses the Urn can invoke the sorcerer power of Li Che Yang by sacrificing one hundred souls to the Urn."

"That's what Yoriko said," Usagi spoke up. "She said that Kagura is obsessed with living forever and she wants to use the urn's power to make that happen."

"Can it do that?" Makoto asked.

"I suppose," Rei shrugged. "There have only been stories of the Urn's existence. I've never heard anything about someone actually invoking its power. But among informed circles, the Urn is always spoken of with great respect and just a little fear, like it has happened before and no one wants it to happen again."

"Sounds like another reason to stop this Kagura chick," Minako surmised. "Too bad this couldn't have happened in August."

"Schedule conflict?" Makoto asked.

"No, I don't start filming for a couple of weeks," Minako replied. "It's just - - Asahikawa in February? Brrrr!"

"Well in order to trace this Kagura person, we're going to need more information about her," Luna judged. "And that's going to necessitate re-interviewing Yoriko," and she glanced disdainfully at Usagi, "by someone somewhat more competent at interviewing." Usagi responded by sticking her tongue out at the cat. "Must you do that? You're thirty-two years old!"

"OK, let's go," Usagi suggested. "I don't think Shingo has to work tonight, so they should both be home."

"Now?" Makoto asked. "It's after six."

"The longer we wait, the more chance there is that someone else might be hurt!" countered Usagi.

"She has a point," Rei nodded. "Has Shingo told Yoriko about us?"

"No, she doesn't know we're the Senshi," Usagi shook her head. "Should we go transformed? She seemed very nervous about Sailor Moon."

"Interesting reaction," Ami observed. "Perhaps we'll be less intimidating as civilians."

"Civilians it is," Minako proclaimed and reached into her purse. She produced her short hair black wig. "Just give me a minute to get into my 'street look'."

* * *

Michiru strolled into the living room of the home she shared with her life mate, Haruka. Haruka was sitting on the sofa, watching a wrestling match on television. The eyebrow on the artist cocked.

"Since when do you watch wrestling?" Michiru asked.

"Nothing else was on," Haruka replied.

"So why wrestling? Surely you could find something more constructive to do with your time - - oh, say, banging yourself in the forehead with a hammer?"

Haruka smirked. "Well, the last match was between two cute girls in skimpy . . ."

"I don't want to hear it," Michiru cut her off sourly. "Guess who I talked with earlier."

"Prime Minister Hino?"

"Keep it up and I'll hide the keys to the Reventon," Michiru warned him playfully.

"OK, who?" Haruka asked, draping her head over the back of the sofa.

"Ami. She and Hayami are getting married. They've invited us to the ceremony."

"At the Shrine?" Haruka asked. Michiru nodded. "Formal kimono or morning coat?"

"Which would you prefer? You look good in both."

"I'd prefer my racing jacket, but Rei would probably flip," Haruka responded. "So Ami is getting married. Dumpling probably finally wore her down. It's a good thing we're together or she'd probably come after me next."

Michiru noticed her mate grow somber.

"What?" she asked Haruka.

"Ever get the feeling the world is passing you by?" Haruka asked in return.

"Are you still feeling glum because Junko is going off to college?"

"Not glum. It's a good opportunity for her. I'm glad she finally decided what she wanted to do with her life. It's just," and Haruka thought. "Hell, you know I'm no good with words."

"You seem to be doing just fine," Michiru said, sitting on the back of the sofa and stroking her mate's sandy blonde hair.

"You ever sorry we never had kids?" Haruka inquired suddenly.

"Where did that come from?"

"I don't know," Haruka frowned. "I just remember when we were taking care of Hotaru. And the last few years watching Junko grow up. I just . . ." Haruka looked out into space. "I don't know."

"Do you want children?" Michiru asked.

"They wouldn't exactly be compatible with our lifestyle," Haruka observed. "I wouldn't be much of a father figure being gone six months out of the year."

"You could always retire."

"Not yet," Haruka shook her head. "I know the time is coming. But not yet." She glanced up at Michiru. "Besides, there's our 'other' career to think about, too."

"Makoto seems to do fine balancing a family and her duty as a senshi," Michiru reminded her. "So it can be done."

"Yeah, but her husband is normal," Haruka countered. "What kind of thing would that be to do to a kid if both of us got taken out on a mission?"

"It happens to 'normal' people, too, Haruka," Michiru advised her. Haruka turned around to face her.

"You sound like you want kids."

"I have entertained the notion from time to time," Michiru admitted. "I'd like nothing better than to balance a lovely little baby with sandy blonde hair on my knee. And I'd be willing to put in the effort of balancing my art and my music and my duty as a senshi with raising a child. But I've also thought of every argument you've just made, and they all make sense, too." She looked down. "I guess what I'm saying is I agree with your reluctance," then she looked Haruka right in the eye, "but if you ever decide that it's something you want to try, I'm more than willing to try with you."

Haruka nodded. "Sounds like something you'd say. Works for me." Haruka grinned at a private thought. "Of course, the next question would be how you'd get pregnant."

"Who says I'm the one who'd get pregnant?" Michiru challenged. "I think you'd look cute with a baby bump. Besides, there's always adoption."

"Adoption's not nearly as much fun," leered Haruka.

* * *

"We just need to ask Yoriko some more about that urn thingy," Usagi said.

Shingo stood at the door to the apartment he shared with Yoriko. The sight of all five senshi in their civilian guises was startling to him, despite Usagi's attempts to make the situation seem normal. Usagi's brother glanced over his shoulder, presumably at Yoriko, then looked back at them uneasily.

"Um, well, it's just," Shingo began. "Well, Yoriko's not very good with crowds, you know, especially if it's a bunch of people she doesn't know."

"Perhaps she'd be more at ease with just one of us?" Ami suggested. Shingo looked at her and his resolve softened, for he trusted Ami, perhaps more than he trusted Usagi. "If this situation is as vital as Yoriko-San says it is, we'll need to gather more information - - to pass on to Sailor Moon, of course."

Again Shingo glanced into the room. Ami judged that he was appealing to Yoriko, who was just out of sight behind the wall.

"It was our thought that it would be better to tell us," Ami persisted, "as Yoriko-San has demonstrated a reluctance to meet with Sailor Moon herself."

"All right," Shingo nodded. "Come on in, Ami. You, too, Sis." He turned to the others. "I'm sorry, but could the rest of you wait out here?"

"Wish I'd brought my MP-3 player now," muttered Minako.

Then Yoriko crossed into the doorway behind Shingo just long enough for Rei to get a glimpse of her. Instantly the priest acted, physically inserting herself between Yoriko and Usagi.

"Get back, everyone!" Rei demanded, drawing a ward from the hip pocket of her slacks.

"Rei, what is it?" gasped Usagi, confused and alarmed.

"Shingo, get away from her!" Rei ordered. "She's not human!"

Continued in Chapter 4


	4. Yuki-onna

THE URN OF THE AGES  
Chapter 4: "Yuki-onna"  
A Sailor Moon fanfic

By Bill K.

* * *

Rei had the ward out and was ready to strike. Yoriko stood anchored to the spot inside the apartment, frozen into inaction by being discovered by the priest. Usagi, as usual, was totally confused and staring first at Rei and then at Yoriko, while Ami, Makoto and Minako pushed toward the door to scope out the situation.

Shingo, however, did not follow Rei's shouted instructions. It wasn't because he was similarly startled into inaction like his older sister. He moved protectively in front of Yoriko, blocking Rei's path to her.

"Move, Shingo!" bellowed Rei. "She's not human!"

"I know!" Shingo roared back.

That stopped everyone in their tracks.

"I know," he repeated more calmly. The neighbors across the hall were peering out of their door curiously. "Everybody come inside. There's nothing to be afraid of."

Once everyone was inside the apartment, Usagi turned to her brother with a look of utter shock and dismay.

"What does she mean?" Usagi demanded. "Yoriko's not - - human?"

Shingo lowered his eyes. "I'm sorry, Sis. I-I can't. I made a vow." Ami noticed the look of pride and gratitude that came over Yoriko's face.

"So that's it, is it?" Rei spoke up, her expression hard and uncompromising. "Then I'll tell. I'm not under any obligation of silence." The priest turned to Yoriko, who nervously stood her ground. "You're a Yuki-onna, right?"

Yoriko's chest puffed out defensively. Her expression hardened. As unearthly beautiful as she still was, now she projected just as much of an aura of unearthly menace. Surreptitiously Minako and Makoto summoned their henshin sticks.

"What's that?" Usagi asked desperately. She turned to Yoriko. "Yoriko, what's that? What does she mean? A-Are you doing something to my brother?"

"Yuki-onnas are ancient spirits," Rei explained, holding her gaze locked on Yoriko for the slightest false move. "They're the manifestation of people who died in the snow, come back to life in this form. They walk the Earth seeking to lure unsuspecting travelers to their deaths so they can feed on the traveler's life energy. She probably cast her spell on Shingo and has been feeding . . ."

"No!" Shingo barked. "It's not like that! I'm not under any spell," and he glanced tenderly at Yoriko, "unless you consider being in love a spell."

"You only think you're in love with her," Rei countered. "That's what Yuki-onnas do. That's how they trap their victims."

"I cast no spell," Yoriko stated sharply. Anger was visible in her eyes. Shingo went over and put his hand on her shoulder. It seemed to calm the creature. "I admit my intention was to lure Shingo to me when we first met. But," and emotions overcame her, "he was so beautiful. He tempted me and I stayed my hand. We became friends, and the more time I spent with him, the more I grew to love him." She looked directly at Rei, proud and defiant. "I do not feed on him. My love for him sustains my existence."

Rei remained silent, but she was studying Yoriko intently.

"I have sacrificed my existence as a Yuki-onna for the sake of this man," Yoriko proclaimed. "So long as he remains true to his vow to me, I will not feed on other humans. I will remain by his side, and love him, and cherish him, and grow old with him, and die when he dies."

"What vow?" Makoto inquired.

"That I never reveal what she - - was - - to anybody," Shingo stated.

"Oh, that's sooooo romantic!" sighed Usagi.

"Um, has anybody considered the possibility that she's lying?" Minako suggested.

In answer, Rei put her ward away.

"She's not," Rei said softly. "I apologize for my suspicions."

"You're a powerful priest," nodded Yoriko, "and my kind haven't always been trustworthy. And you were trying to protect Shingo." She smiled his way. "I think I'd do the same."

"Ohhhhh!" Usagi squealed. She raced in, caught Shingo around the neck with one arm, Yoriko with the other and hugged them both.

"So may we assume that this Kagura you warned us about is a Yuki-onna as well?" Ami spoke up, trying to direct the gathering back to its original purpose.

"Yes," Yoriko said, detaching herself from Usagi. "And there is no love in her soul for humans. She sees you only as sustenance to maintain her existence."

"But if she gets the Urn Of The Ages to grant her immortality like you said, doesn't that no longer become a problem?" Makoto postulated.

"Except for the hundred poor suckers she's going to use to invoke the thing," Minako reminded her.

"And I don't believe she'll stop there," Yoriko added.

* * *

On board a jet to Asahikawa, the five senshi in disguise reviewed what they knew and formulated a plan. Usagi and Ami had paid for the trip, as none of the others could afford it.

"You going to be all right there, Makoto?" Minako grinned. Makoto sat stiffly in her seat and gripped the hand rests until her knuckles were white.

"As soon as we land," Makoto choked out.

"I'm sorry, Mako-Chan, but the roads are still treacherous in the north because of the earthquake and the train would have taken too long," pleaded Usagi.

"Yes, there's no telling how close this Yuki-onna is to invoking this mystical urn," Ami added. "It indicates that speed is of the essence."

"We all promise to cry at your funeral," Minako offered with a sly grin.

"THAT'S NOT FUNNY, BLONDIE!" Makoto hissed through clenched teeth.

"Is there a problem?" the flight attendant asked, leaning in. Then she noticed Makoto. "Oh, is she afraid to fly?"

"I'm afraid so," Ami nodded sympathetically.

"Could I get you an eye mask and some headphones?" the flight attendant asked.

"Don't I get a last cigarette?" Makoto quipped nervously.

"But Mako-Chan, you don't smoke," Usagi said.

"It's irony, Bubble Head," Rei rumbled. Usagi responded with a wagging tongue.

"Many people who are nervous about flying find it easier to endure if they can't see or hear what's happening," the Flight Attendant persisted. "You might even fall asleep."

"No, I'll be fine," Makoto said thinly. The Flight Attendant nodded and moved off. "Or I'll die horribly, one or the other."

"That's that can-do attitude," Minako jabbed.

"I'm going to pound you, Blondie," Makoto snarled.

"If we can get back to this," Ami sighed impatiently. "Our biggest concern at the moment is how to track the Yuki-onna. Asahikawa has over 350, 000 people and as I said before, locating her as soon as possible is essential."

"You got any way to track her, Rei?" Minako asked.

"I wish I did," Rei scowled. "Yuki-onna don't put out enough spiritual energy for me to recognize unless I'm in the same room with it. And I haven't had any visions or premonitions."

"Maybe the police have some information," Usagi suggested. "If she's killing people, they must know about it. We could get a clue from them."

"I thought of that," Ami stated. "There are no unusual homicides currently on the Asahikawa books and nothing that would indicate a serial pattern."

"Maybe she just started," Minako shrugged.

"Or maybe she's being surreptitious in order to avoid discovery before she can invoke the power of the urn," Ami argued. "And the best way to do that would be to lure victims who wouldn't be missed immediately. That would indicate to me the street population, such as homeless, vagrants, and runaways. And if their bodies were found, assuming bodies are left behind, it would be assumed they died of exposure, since Yuki-onna kill by draining the body through hypothermia."

"Wait a minute," Rei said. "Remember when I flashed back to that time Usagi gave her allowance to that homeless guy so he could get something to eat? Maybe that was a premonition after all." Usagi's hands flew to her mouth in horror.

"I think we're on to something," Minako nodded. "But why would you be in Hokkaido in the winter time if you're homeless?"

"If you have no money to travel with, you'd have to stay where you were and endure the elements as best you can," Ami surmised. "Asahikawa may not have the homeless problem that Tokyo has, but it undoubtedly has its share."

"Then why didn't she just come to Tokyo if the pickings were better?"

"She probably wanted to stay up north where the cold and snow is," Rei judged. "Her power is greater in the snow and cold. She may even be spiritually bound to that region."

"We can investigate the shelters first and see if they've noticed anyone missing," Ami outlined. "If we find a concentration of missing persons, we can narrow our search."

"After we land and check into an inn," Rei added, noticing that Ami was too intent upon the problem to consider accommodations.

"IF we land," Makoto whispered nervously.

* * *

Shingo came into the room and looked for his house mate. He found her standing on the balcony of the apartment they shared. Despite what little she wore and despite the fact that it was thirty degrees with a howling north wind, Yoriko stood on the balcony and placidly looked out over the city. Her long black hair was a stark contrast to her pale skin, a paleness that almost rendered her invisible at a distance when she was outside.

He thought he understood why Yoriko was pensive. One of her deepest fears, and yes it was possible for even mythological manifestations of the spirits of the dead to have fears, was being shunned for what she was. She knew humans feared her kind, and with good reason. When she finally revealed to him what she was, Shingo had nearly ran from her. But she wasn't a monster. She had been human once. Her village had been attacked by marauding bandits and many of the villagers had been slaughtered. Yoriko had managed to escape the wrath of the bandits by fleeing into the snow-covered woods, only to die of hypothermia.

Yes, she had wandered the countryside for four hundred and twenty years, remaining young and animated by seducing unwitting men and draining their life force. That was monstrous. But he had gotten to know the simple peasant girl beneath the monstrous acts, as no one ever had. And that's what Yoriko was afraid of: That she would be made to pay for the monstrous acts she had committed now that she had renounced those ways and abandoned the immortality of the succubus for the contented life that was stolen from her four hundred and twenty years ago.

Yoriko felt arms slither around her waist. She leaned back against the warm, sturdy frame of the human who had helped her regain her humanity. Warmth weakened her, but it was a condition she preferred to what she had been. It had been so long since someone had cared for her.

"You don't have to worry," Shingo whispered, nuzzling her ear and neck. "Sis and the others will keep your secret."

"Yes," Yoriko replied softly, placing her arms over Shingo's. "I believe it. Your sister has a spirit to her that I've never seen in a person before. I just feel that I can trust her no matter what. But maybe the others . . .?"

"They're good people, and very devoted to her," Shingo told her. "They'll keep silent if she does." He squeezed harder. "It's like my dad always used to say: 'You can't expect trust if you don't give it. A match may burn you, but the alternative is a very cold night.'"

"And cold nights can be deadly," Yoriko added. "I ought to know. Are you cold? We can go inside."

"I'm all right," Shingo said, "as long as I'm cuddled up to you."

They stood on the balcony and stared out over Tokyo at night.

"Do you think Sailor Moon will believe them?" Yoriko asked. "About Kagura, I mean."

"Depend on it," Shingo smiled, unseen by his love. "Sailor Moon and my sister are a lot alike."

"I hope so. There's a side to Kagura that scared me even when we were both Yuki-onna. She's so - - callous. It scares me to think of her having the power that the Urn can supposedly grant someone."

"You could probably say that about most people," Shingo mused.

"Her more than anyone," Yoriko maintained. "I'm truly scared of the prospect of a world under her whim. Scared for what will happen to you."

Yoriko turned in Shingo's arms to face him.

"And scared for another reason," Yoriko said. She swallowed nervously. "Shingo, I may be pregnant."

Shingo stared at her, stunned, and for a moment Yoriko feared for the relationship she valued so highly. Then a broad smile bloomed on his face and Yoriko felt her breast swell with relief.

"P-Pregnant?" he sputtered happily. "H-How?"

"How does a woman usually become pregnant?" Yoriko said with a silly smile. "We Yuki-onna are very fertile, for spirits of the dead. It's one of the side effects of our, well, condition." She rose up and kissed him lightly on the lips. "Tell me how many babies you want and I'll bear them for you."

Overwhelmed, Shingo pulled Yoriko to him and hugged her tightly. Yoriko buried her face in his chest and clung to him.

"I'm going to be a father," Shingo whispered. "It's got to be a little girl. A little girl I can dote on . . ." Suddenly he pulled back and looked at Yoriko with concern.

"Yuki-onna only have human babies," Yoriko assured him, guessing her lover's concern. "And I'd love it if our baby has your brown hair, no matter what the sex." Shingo smiled again.

"We've got to get married!" he chuckled.

"I'd marry you today, Shingo," Yoriko said, "but it's not necessary. Don't feel obligated just because I'm pregnant."

"No, I've been trying to get my courage up for weeks," Shingo exclaimed. "I want to spend my life with you. I want you to have my name." He smirked knowingly. "And once Sis finds out, we won't have a choice."

"I don't understand," Yoriko said, happily confused.

"You will," Shingo chuckled. "It's easier to fight the rising tide than it is my sister when she has her matchmaker's hat on."

* * *

Hojo Amakanami crawled into his blue tent and huddled down for the night. Pitched out of the way in an alley behind a book and magazine store, Hojo hoped to survive another night in peace. The day had been good enough to him to allow him something to eat and a bottle of spirits to warm him on another cold Asahikawa night. He kept promising himself that he was going to move to the south one day, for the older he got, the more difficult it was to survive northern winters. But walking depressed him and hurt his aching legs, and he could never scrounge up enough money to travel without blowing it first on alcohol.

Sensing it more than hearing it, Hojo turned over and looked. Though it was dark and the alley was poorly lit, there was enough light to tell him that someone was outside. Feeling under his blanket for the length of pipe he always carried to protect himself, Hojo watched the shadow kneel down near the tent entrance.

"May I come in?" said a throaty purr of a female voice. It was strange, not that it was female. The silhouette against the tent was female. Nor was it strange that the female's voice was so sensual. What was strange was that the silhouette was very small, as if the woman wasn't wearing a coat.

"No!" barked Hojo. He recalled the rumors of some of the area homeless being preyed upon, though it was difficult to believe some of the specifics of the rumors. They had the predator as being everything from a vampire to cultists. "There's only room for me!"

"I'm willing to - - pay - - for my share of your bed," the woman responded. The tone of her voice left little doubt what currency she intended to use.

Hojo swallowed. Alcohol and women were the two vices that had sent him spiraling down to where he was now. Alcohol may have destroyed his career, but women had destroyed his family. The mere thought of enjoying another female got the yearning going again. He glanced again at the silhouette. She looked shapely enough.

Peeking out of the tent, Hojo looked up. There was a goddess in the moonlight. Her long black hair blew in the north wind. Her long, flowing, low-cut gown, gossamer and virgin white, blew in the same wind. The palest possible creamy chest heaved once. Framed against the black of her hair and the black of the night, her skin seemed to glow ethereally. A perfect, delicate hand extended to him. Dropping the pipe, Hojo got to his feet and stared.

"Why?" he mumbled. "I'm not much to look at. Not anymore."

She smiled, ruby lips dark and seductive against her pale skin.

"You're everything I've ever wanted in a man," she said, and the longing grew more intense.

Standing still as she approached, Hojo felt her arms fold around the back of his neck. Her breath was cool as her lips neared his. Her breasts felt good against him. Their lips met and for a moment he knew more ecstasy than his mind had ever thought possible.

Then he felt weak. His strength seemed to ebb. There was some initial confusion before he realized that it was her. She was doing it. She was sucking everything he had and everything he was out of him. Panic swept over him and he searched his alcohol-slowed mind for a means of escape.

"STOP RIGHT THERE!" a woman's command echoed through the alley. Kagura disengaged from her victim, holding him as he dangled limply in her arms while she surveyed this new threat.

Standing in the alley mouth were Sailor Moon and the four Inner Senshi. Sailor Moon had the Moon Tier out and had it pointed in her direction. Mercury had her computer out and her visor down, surveying telemetry. Mars stood between them, a ward in one hand. Jupiter was on Sailor Moon's left, her lightning rod extended and energy crackling from it, while Venus stood to her left crouched and ready to attack.

Kagura, knowing of the reputation of the Senshi, hissed a warning. Then her body seemed to explode in a thick cloud of driving snow. The snow flew at the senshi, pelting them with frigid ice and snow pellets.

Continued in Chapter 5


	5. The Land Of The Ice And Snow

THE URN OF THE AGES  
Chapter 5: "The Land Of The Ice And Snow"  
A Sailor Moon fanfic

By Bill K.

* * *

Pelted by cutting snow crystals blown at them at high velocity, Sailor Moon turned her back to the storm and thus to her foe, and tried to shield herself from the torrent. Mercury, Venus and Jupiter were little better at resisting the onslaught. Jupiter managed a peek over her shoulder to see how the others fared and where their foe was.

She saw Sailor Mars standing straight against the straight-line snow, black hair fluttering behind her like a flag in a hurricane. It was almost as if, being a priestess of fire, the snow couldn't touch her, as if it melted before it could strike her skin.

"Mars!" she shouted against the howling wind of the snowstorm. "Flame Sniper!"

The flaming bow formed in her hands even as Mars moved to aim. She tracked her shot up into the air above them, though Jupiter couldn't see what she was aiming at. The fire arrow propelled from her, cleaving the night air, straight and true and unaffected by the blustering snow storm.

And at once there was a blood-curdling cry. The arrow had hit.

At once the snow died away. The other senshi straightened up and looked. There was no sign of the strange woman that Mars had identified as a Yuki-onna. There was only the homeless man laying on the street, dazed and moaning. Mars started forward on a dead run, followed by Jupiter and Venus, while Mercury and Sailor Moon headed for the homeless man. Sailor Moon, however, stopped short and looked at something in the street.

"Blood!" she cried.

"I wounded it!" Mars called back. "Keep it in sight!"

Mercury knelt down next to the injured man. A cursory check of his outer signs did nothing to reassure her. A quick check of her computer confirmed it.

"This man needs hospitalization!" Mercury proclaimed. She typed a message on her computer and it contacted emergency services.

"Is he going to die?" Sailor Moon gasped.

"Not if I can help it!" Mercury answered. Just then a cry echoed from the dark.

"Venus! Love and Beauty Shock!"

"Go help them, Sailor Moon," Mercury told her friend. "I'll stay with him until the medics can arrive."

Uneasily, Sailor Moon nodded and plunged off into the night toward the sound of Venus's attack cry. As she ran, she heard the clap of Jupiter using Sparkling Wide Pressure. Quickening her pace, Sailor Moon turned a corner as an artificial light momentarily lit up the junction.

A body impacted with Sailor Moon as she turned the corner, sending her stumbling backwards. Hands reached out before she could right herself and shoved Sailor Moon. She staggered a step before impacting with something strong and solid, yet soft. Two hands grabbed her and kept her from falling. She looked up and found she was pressed against Sailor Jupiter.

"Venus Love Me Chain!" Venus shouted, reaching around Jupiter and projecting her chain out just above Sailor Moon's head. The chain shot out at the fleeing Yuki-onna, but at the last second the creature dissipated into mist and the chain went right through her. Mars ran past them, but stopped a few feet away.

"She's gone," Mars muttered. Sailor Moon stood on her own.

"Did I get in the way?" Sailor Moon asked Jupiter. Jupiter didn't respond, but she didn't need to. Sailor Moon's eyes sought the ground. "I'm sorry."

"One of those things, Hon'," Jupiter replied, putting her hand on Sailor Moon's shoulder. "We'll get her next time."

"Did her victim die?" Mars asked pointedly.

"No," Sailor Moon shook her head. "Mercury's with him now. He's pretty bad off, but he is still alive."

"Good," Mars nodded. "One less soul for the Urn. She can't invoke it yet. We've still got time." The four senshi headed back to where they left Mercury. As they rounded a corner, they saw a medic vehicle's lights flashing.

"How much time?" Venus asked. "She going to strike again tonight?"

"I wouldn't think so," Mars shook her head. "I wounded her. She's going to have to rest and regain her strength. And then she's going to have to wait out the day before she can strike again."

"That'll give us time to rest up and do some more digging," Venus concluded. "Suppose I should call Superintendent Sakurada and get us some cooperation from the local cops?" Jupiter nodded.

As they approached, they saw the homeless man being loaded into the back of the medic vehicle on a Gurney. Sailor Moon came up to Mercury.

"How is he?" she asked.

"Thready pulse, shallow breathing, confusion, slurred speech," Mercury related. "Classic symptoms of hypothermia. Hopefully we reached him in time."

And the emergency vehicle drove off with Kagura's intended victim shivering in the back.

At the inn, the five senshi, reverted to their civilian forms, ate dinner. Three of them exchanged ideas. Usagi and Minako were on their cell phones.

"It was a good idea asking around at that homeless shelter," Makoto stated. "It got us a good lead and we were able to stop that Yuki-onna. We ought to hit some of the other shelters tomorrow - - see if we can find a pattern or an area she's been concentrating in."

"Yes, and perhaps we should ask around at some of the 'cubicle hotels' as well," suggested Ami. "A city the size of Asahikawa must have them. I'm going to scan the police records and see if they have any records of recent public deaths by hypothermia."

"Well, you shouldn't have any trouble," Minako proclaimed, closing her phone. "I just talked with Superintendent Sakurada. She's going to phone the locals and ask them to cooperate fully with us."

"If you do find any bodies the authorities might have, I'd like to view them," Rei told Ami. "I might be able to draw impressions off of them."

They all glanced at Usagi.

"Konna? It's Usagi Chiba," Usagi said. "Yes, I am. I had to go out of town suddenly. The thing is, I'm going to be gone a while and I am totally up against my deadline! Could you possibly ink a few of my pages to get me back on track? I would be so grateful, you couldn't imagine!" Rei rolled her eyes.

"I'd love to help you out, Usagi," Konna, a squat artist with long black hair and thick round glasses, said. "But I'm just barely keeping up with my own deadlines right now. I couldn't spare the time to clean your brushes, let alone ink for you."

"Oh," Usagi said sadly. "I understand."

"Hey, Usagi," Konna said suddenly. "I do know someone. She's right out of art school and looking to break into the business. She's pretty good, but really raw. I thought about taking her on as an assistant myself, but I just couldn't afford it."

"I'LL TAKE HER!" gasped Usagi, drawing curious looks from her companions. "If you like her stuff, she must be good! Call her and send her over to my apartment. She can pick up the pages from my husband after seven. Oh, thank you, Konna-Chan!"

"Don't thank me until you see her finished work," Konna warned. "I told you she's still pretty new at this." Usagi disconnected and began dialing again.

"NOW who are you calling?" growled Rei.

"I have to tell Mamo-Chan to give the pages to this new artist!" Usagi howled. "Oh, I probably should have asked what her name was. Hello, Mamo-Chan?"

"Well, we're not getting any help from her for a while," Rei sighed.

"Quiet! Do you want the world to do without Fire Princess Rika?" Minako admonished. "More importantly, do you want ME to do without Fire Princess Rika?" Rei replied with a tired look.

"Yeah, Akiko would never forgive me if she found out I was hampering production of her favorite manga," Makoto added with a smile.

"OK, now time to come up with sleeping arrangements, since we've only got three rooms," Minako suggested.

"I'd like to sleep solo, if that's OK," Rei inquired.

"Talk in your sleep? Wet the bed?" smirked Minako.

"I'm more likely to have a premonition dream if I'm by myself," Rei sighed. "And if anybody wets the bed around here, it's probably YOU."

"Guess you'll never know now," Minako taunted. "How about I crash with Usagi and Makoto doubles with Ami. That suit you two?"

"Quite acceptable," nodded Ami. "I'm certain Makoto and I will be quite compatible. As for tomorrow, breakfast at seven and then head out?"

"Seven? In the morning?" Minako asked distastefully. "I'm not filming!"

"I can't wait to get back, Mamo-Chan. Good-bye. I love you," Usagi cooed, then closed her phone. She looked at the group. "What did I miss?"

* * *

Everything was covered in snow. Rei looked down and could see she was shin deep in a snow drift. Her feet were bare and she wore only a diaphanous gown that seemed inadequate protection against the cold. Yet she didn't feel cold. The wind was out of the north and blew her black hair over and around her face. She brushed it back several times, but gave up due to the futility of it all.

"Shelter," she thought. "Need to get to some shelter. Get out of the wind."

Her feet crunched in the snow, sinking nearly to the knee as she tried to navigate the drifts. No one else was around, which made sense. No one would be out in the elements like this except perhaps a Yuki-onna, or a fool. Of course, what did that make her? As Rei continued to make her way through the snowy night, the drifts became less until she was padding across ground barely coated with snow. It seemed she had trekked for miles, but the bleak scene never changed. But at length she spotted a figure in the distance and headed for it.

As she neared, Rei could make out the figure in detail. It was Derek Johnson, complete in his Yomiyuri Giants uniform. The tall, muscular figure turned to her, the night obscuring most of his features other than his luminous eyes and his easy smile. Rei approached him, wanting to ask him if he knew where they were and why. But before she could speak, Derek scooped her up in his muscular arms and pinned her to him. Startled, Rei only watched as Derek leaned in to kiss her. She wanted to protest, protest the offense his boldness had given, protest that she still couldn't trust him and therefore still couldn't give him her heart. She wanted to focus his attention on their situation. But instead, she surrendered to the force of his passions and to the racing pulse those passions inspired in her.

However, just as quickly as he struck, Derek's arms grew slack and fell away. Her eyes flew open and Rei looked down on Derek, collapsed at her feet. He stared up at her with glazed eyes, his strong form drawn and withered, his brown skin with a blue tint to it. The priest stared down at the corpse at her feet, numb and unable to comprehend. She began to hyperventilate. Rei wanted to scream, but she couldn't seem to generate any sound. Derek just stared up at her, his dead eyes asking why.

A hand touched her shoulder. Rei jumped and whirled around. She found Usagi there, serene and glowing in the winter night.

"I can help you," Usagi said. She held her hand out to Rei. "Invoke me."

Desperate to understand, Rei took the offered hand. Usagi merely smiled and continued to look at Rei. And Rei was seized by a sudden, odd idea. Her hand reached up and touched Usagi's face.

Something was wrong. Though Usagi continued to smile, something was wrong. Rei tried to release the hand she clasped, but couldn't. She silently appealed to Usagi, but Usagi only continued to smile at her. Rei's hand slid along Usagi's chin until she cupped it between her thumb and forefinger.

Then Usagi's face came off in her hand.

Rei could hear heavy breathing. It was a moment before she realized it was her own. It was another moment before she heard the pounding on a nearby wood surface. There was a muffled cry. It must have been real, because she was awake.

The door. Someone was pounding on the door to her room at the inn. Still disoriented from the dream, Rei got up and stumbled to the door. Unmindful of caution in her disorientation, Rei opened it. Instantly Usagi lunged for her. The woman caught her around the upper body, got her in a bear hug and pressed her face to Rei's shoulder.

"U-Usagi?" Rei mumbled in disbelief. Behind Usagi, Minako was standing in the hall in a nightie that would normally make the conservative priest blush. Minako was just as confused as she felt.

"Are you all right?" wailed Usagi.

"I," Rei began, then began to wonder herself. "Yes, I'm all right. What are you so upset about?"

"I had this sudden, overwhelming fear," Usagi squeaked, "that you were in danger." Rei could feel the woman trembling against her.

"She suddenly yells your name and goes running out of the room," Minako added. "Scared me, that's for sure."

"I'm all right, Usagi," Rei assured her. "I just had a - - very strange dream. Maybe I accidentally sent you some psychic vibes from it."

"A premonition dream?" Minako asked.

"I'm sure it was," Rei frowned. "Now I just have to figure out what it was trying to tell me."

* * *

At the Asahikawa city medical examiner's complex, Sailor Mercury and Sailor Mars were waiting for permission to enter the morgue. That morning at breakfast, Mercury had told the others she had discovered case files of hypothermia deaths in the city dating back several months. She and Mars were there to examine the latest victim.

"I texted Artemis with the information I've garnered," Mercury explained as they waited. "He did some follow up investigating while we were in transit here."

"Find anything?" Mars asked. The outer office receptionist stole another glance at the famous Sailor Senshi.

"Clusters of hypothermia deaths in twenty-five cities spread out over the entire island of Hokkaido," Mercury replied, "dating back twenty years. This Kagura has taken great pains not to call attention to herself. No one would be likely to see a pattern unless they were looking for it."

"Yuki-onna are known for their patience," Mars judged, "given that they exist for a very long time. How many victims all together?"

Mercury paused, reluctant to speak. Mars looked at her.

"Ninety-nine," Mercury said.

"Last night would have been number one hundred," Mars scowled. "Not good."

"There is the possibility that some of the attacks were the work of other of these," and Mercury paused, her mind rebelling at the existence of a non-scientific entity, "creatures. Do they exist in large numbers?"

"Well, we know of two, counting Shingo's girlfriend," Mars surmised. "That's two more than I thought existed. It's possible there are others roaming Hokkaido. Hokkaido would be the place for them. And it's possible some of those reports are victims of other Yuki-onna besides Kagura. But it's too dangerous to assume that. We have to operate on the assumption that her next victim invokes the Urn."

"Agreed," nodded Mercury. Just then one of the morgue attendants entered the lobby.

"You can come back now," the attendant said, bowing to them.

They entered the morgue. It was a wall full of stainless steel drawers where the recently deceased were stored on slabs until they could be claimed. The attendant glanced at the card in his hand, then at the bank of drawers. Spotting what he was looking for, he headed for a drawer. Mercury started to follow, but looked back at Mars. Mars was staring up at the ceiling.

"You seem ill-at-ease," Mercury judged.

"There are spirits here," Mars explained. "They're waiting for the proper funeral rites so they can be ferried to the next world. They're all - - uneasy, confused." Mars shook herself. "You don't feel the vibrations this room gives off." She accompanied Mercury over to the drawer.

"Male Asian, approximately sixty, identity unknown," the attendant explained as Mercury and Mars peered at the body on the slab. "Brought in yesterday morning. Cause of death cardio-pulmonary failure due to acute hypothermia."

"Yes. May I see the M.E.'s case records on this body?" Mercury requested. The attendant nodded and went off to get it. Mercury turned back to Mars.

Mars had her hand held over the face of the man. Mercury could see that the man hadn't been in very good physical condition when he was alive. There were obvious signs of malnutrition, as well as several scars on the face and arms and a general weathering of the skin due to prolonged exposure to the elements and infrequent, haphazard personal hygiene. Mercury could also see signs of arthritis in the hands and feet, and several possibly indicators of stomach or renal disease.

"This man's soul didn't depart the body in the normal manner," Mars declared. "It was taken. He's one of Kagura's victim's all right."

"Hopefully not the ninety-ninth," Mercury added. "Can you sense anything else?"

"It's difficult. He's been dead too long," Mars told her. "I can sense something. It's very fuzzy."

Suddenly Mars' eyes snapped wide open. Mercury instantly noticed.

"It's him!" Mars gasped.

"Who?"

"That homeless man! The one Usagi gave money to all those years ago! The memory I thought of a few days ago! This is him!"

"Then it was a premonition," Mercury concluded. "Can you get a fix on Kagura's location through it?"

"Not from him," Mars shook her head. "But maybe through Usagi."

Continued in Chapter 6


	6. So Close

THE URN OF THE AGES  
Chapter 6: "So Close"  
A Sailor Moon fanfic

By Bill K.

* * *

The building was dark and cold, its basement unused as the building itself was no longer used. In a corner of the basement, wrapped in shadows and obscured by darkness, a figure sat huddled with its back to the corner. Near the figure was a bowl-shaped object, oval and gray with a top covering its hollowed insides. The object sat placidly while the figure tried to endure its pain silently.

Pain was something Kagura had not endured in a great many hundreds of years. She only had dim memories of it now, of laying shivering in the snow as her strength drained away and visions of ancestors long dead stood before her and ignored her pleas for help. She had fled the village to escape being raped by bandits and perhaps killed or at least sold to a brothel. Her thought was better the cold and snows of the forest to that. But dying in the cold had changed her mind and it was too late to do anything about it.

"The longer you wait," an ethereal voice seemed to come from the object beside her, "the closer you come to losing your chance at everything you wish."

Kagura stared down venomously at The Urn Of The Ages. She put her hand to the arrow wound in her side. It was healing, but not fast enough. She was stuck there until nightfall anyway, unless there was a snowstorm during the day, so she had time to let it heal. But it still hurt and she didn't like pain. The priest who did this to her would pay. But invoking the power of the Urn was more important. Once she had the power of the Urn, everything would be hers to command.

"The longer you wait," the Urn seemed to tell her.

"I heard you," Kagura grunted.

Being a Yuki-onna was a step up from her previous life as a peasant farmer. She was far more beautiful now than she had been. Her hands were no longer coarse. Her hair was no longer dirty and stringy. Her skin was soft. And she had lived several centuries longer than she would have as a struggling peasant. Bandits and famine were no longer her enemies.

Priests were. And though the life of a Yuki-onna was exceedingly long, at the price of seducing the unwary and stealing their life energies, Kagura knew that she wasn't immortal. She could die, either from a well-placed arrow from a priest or from the famine of a prolonged lack of victims. She'd seen others of her kind die. And she didn't want to die.

And with one more soul, she wouldn't. One more soul would invoke the Urn and grant her everything she could ever desire. Immortality would be hers. No longer would she have to hunt and seduce the unwary. She could rule over humanity and take them as she desired. Just one more soul stood between her and her goals.

One more soul, and the Sailor Senshi. Even a Yuki-onna from the north knew of the legendary Sailor Senshi. That was challenge enough; the fact that one of them was a powerful priest besides was a threat. And after she'd been so careful, stringing out her kills over time and distance, and only preying on the outsiders of society, on those who would not be missed, they would come now. Now when she was so close.

"Let them come," Kagura mused as she shielded her wound. "There's no more point in caution. I hunt tonight. And I hunt the first human who will respond to me. If I invoke the Urn, it won't matter if they try to stop me."

"Yes," the Urn seemed to say. "It won't matter."

* * *

"Wow! Are you really Sailor Moon?"

The children in the homeless shelter crowed around Sailor Moon, tugging at her skirt, reaching for her, shouting dozens of questions and forgetting for a moment that they and their parents had no home to go to. Clearly in her element, Sailor Moon knelt down and enthralled every child with her colorful costume and her ebullient charm. Across the room, Sailor Jupiter and Sailor Venus waited for one of the shelter officials and watched the scene.

"Boy, you can tell who the star of this little comedy troop is," Sailor Venus remarked. Jupiter caught the merest hint of jealousy in the undercurrent of her friend's comment.

"She's the Princess. We're the body guards," Jupiter smiled. "Besides, we've got our fans."

"I know, but they're a different demographic," Venus smirked. Then she nodded discreetly toward a pair of teenage boys in the back of the room staring as if two goddesses had stepped from the ocean's foam.

"Wow," Jupiter swallowed. "Why do I suddenly feel naked?"

"You get used to it," chuckled Venus.

"I've checked with our staff," said Naoko Hotogiri, who managed the shelter. She was about fifty, five feet tall and looked like she would be at home on a charm bracelet. Her glasses perched on her nose away from her eyes and Jupiter recognized the same trait in Ami. "Nobody has been missing recently. Of course, some of our guests can be transitory. But we usually don't cater to long term street people."

"Long term?" Jupiter asked.

"Naturally we don't turn anyone away," Hotogiri explained. "But there are two general types of homeless. Our shelter mostly gets families or single professionals who are between jobs or were caught in the economic downturn and unable to maintain the payments on their homes or apartments. They're here as a last resort and only until their fortunes can pick back up." She sighed. "Unfortunately, we've had an increase in that type since the disaster in 2011."

"So who's the other type?" Venus inquired.

"People with substance abuse problems or mental disorders which have wrecked their lives and put them on the street," Hotogiri continued. "They show up here occasionally, but they don't last long. Our shelter is too structured for their tastes. A lot of them aren't very happy with following rules."

"Have you or any of your staff heard any stories about homeless people being preyed upon?" Jupiter questioned.

"All the time," Hotogiri replied. "Homeless people are vulnerable people, and vulnerable people can very quickly become targets. They're victimized by con artists and strong-arm thugs all the time. These people often have just enough money to survive on and there always seems to be someone willing to take even that from them."

"Well, we were thinking more about someone preying on individual homeless," Venus told her. "Usually someone with no family and no connections, who wouldn't be missed right away. That ring any bells?"

"Or maybe there's been a string of hypothermia deaths?" Jupiter added.

"Nothing that I know about," Hotogiri answered. "The city usually has a half-dozen to a dozen hypothermia deaths every year. Some of the loners either can't or won't obtain shelter and freeze to death. Or they're too high on whatever they're abusing and don't think of it. Unfortunately that's not remarkable. Is someone out there preying on homeless individuals?"

"Yeah," Jupiter said. "You might want to let people know not to be out at night if they can avoid it."

"And don't talk to strange women in wispy gowns," Venus quipped. "Come on, Jupe, let's pry Sailor Moon away from those kids and get on to the next stop."

"My, she does have a way with those children, doesn't she?" Hotogiri observed.

"Yeah, they sort of communicate on the same level," cracked Venus. Jupiter gave her a hip shot.

Once they had gotten Sailor Moon away from the kids, the three senshi headed outside. Used to the stares of the public, they turned north and walked to their next destination.

"I wish I could do something for those poor kids," Sailor Moon moaned. "No one should have to live like that, but certainly not children."

"I know," Jupiter nodded. "I look at those families in there and I wonder if San-San and the kids and I could end up there with a few bad breaks."

Just then their communicators signaled. Venus answered first.

"Head back to the inn," Mars said on the other end. "I may have a lead on our Yuki-onna, but I'm going to need Sailor Moon to test out that theory."

"You got someone to talk?" Venus asked.

"In a way," Mars replied. "But you're not going to like hearing about it."

* * *

Luna looked to the sound of the door being unlocked. She relaxed when Mamoru stepped into the apartment.

"Welcome home, Mamoru," the cat said pleasantly.

"Hi, Luna," the tall, dark doctor sighed. That told Luna that it had been another long, exhausting day at Mamoru's private practice. "Any word on how Usako's doing in Asahikawa?"

"They think they have a means of tracking the Yuki-onna," Luna reported. "Hopefully it will result positively, and without another confrontation as happened last evening. And how was your day?"

"It's a little tough with Ami gone," Mamoru said. "I have to double up my caseload to accommodate her more acute patients." He stood and thought for a moment. "I should call Usako. You don't mind waiting a little bit for me to start dinner, do you?"

"I doubt it would dissuade you if I did," Luna mumbled to herself with a wry smile. Just then the doorbell rang. Mamoru went to answer it while Luna looked on with mounting curiosity.

When he opened the door, Mamoru found a young woman there. She was twenty-one, with short-cropped black hair, large wondrous eyes and an infectious smile. Her athletic frame was draped in a knit sweater with a denim jacket over it, fitted black jeans that hugged impressive hips and legs, and suede boots.

"Is this the Chiba residence?" she chirped. Luna stretched her neck to get a look at the woman.

"Yes, it is," Mamoru replied. "How can I help you?"

Suddenly the woman remembered her manners and bowed to him.

"I'm Sanoko Narita," she told him. Returning to full height, she was just slightly taller than Usagi was, which meant Mamoru towered over her. "Konna sent me over here? She said you had an inking job for me?"

"Oh, the artist," Mamoru nodded, the light going on over him. "Yes, come in. My wife told me about your arrangement. I'll get the pages."

Unaware of Luna staring holes through her from the sofa, Sanoko stared after Mamoru with unconcealed fascination until he disappeared into the next room, then looked the apartment over with some admiration. When Mamoru returned, her attention returned to him instantly.

"My wife had me make copies of the pages," Mamoru explained, handing over a large envelope with the comic pages inside. "That won't be a problem, will it?"

"Oh, no!" Sanoko gasped, shaking her head. "I can ink stats, no problem! When did you need them back?"

"She said they were due on Monday, so let's say Sunday, just to be safe," Mamoru suggested.

"They'll be here!" the woman proclaimed. Taking the envelope, she bowed once again to him. "Thank you very much for this opportunity! I really appreciate it and I promise I won't let you down!"

"Just do your best," Mamoru told her as he escorted her to the door. "We appreciate your being there to help us out of this situation. And who knows, maybe you could help us out on a regular basis if things work out well."

That seemed to thrill Sanoko. She beamed him a smile and bowed again, then hurried off. Mamoru closed the door behind her.

"Well she certainly was energetic," Mamoru commented. "Kind of cute, too."

Luna watched him move to the kitchen, her eyebrow cocked.

* * *

Usagi's gasp was loud enough to reverberate off of the walls. Her blue eyes got wide as her hands flew to her mouth, and then moisture began to collect along the rims of her eyelids.

"Wow," whispered Makoto, humbled by the specter of death. "Rough way to end a rough life."

"From the signs on the body," Ami added to no one in particular, "it had been a very rough life the last few years."

"That poor man," Usagi sobbed. "You're certain the Yuki-onna killed him?"

"Rei seems certain," Ami said. "Although to the medical professional, cause of death could be just as easily attributed to hypothermia."

"It was the Yuki-onna," Rei stated firmly. "His soul was ripped from him. It didn't pass on its own." Usagi clamped her eyes shut and shook her head.

"So you said you had a means of tracking this thing?" Minako prodded.

"Yes," Rei said soberly. "This man had a connection to you, Usagi. That day you helped him out was a memory he cherished. I could feel that. It was strong enough to be one of the last things he thought of before he died. Now remember how I was able to use your connection to trace that baby-killing demon?"

"Oh, Rei, why did you have to bring THAT up?" groaned Usagi. "I haven't thought about that thing in years!"

"Sorry," Rei replied. "But it's roughly the same process. I can use your connection to him, using my sensory abilities and the rudimentary abilities you have, to track down where the Urn Of The Ages is."

"Because wherever the Urn is, Kagura isn't going to be far away," smiled Minako. "I like it. What do we do?"

"Be ready to move," advised Rei. "I don't know how long this will take. OK, Usagi, clear your mind."

"No shot," Minako murmured to Makoto. "This IS serious." Rei gave Minako a dirty look. Meanwhile Ami had her laptop out and was busy on it.

Without prompting, Usagi offered her hands to Rei and the priest took them. Their eyes closed in the same motion. Their breathing seemed to sync up. Usagi's expression was blank, while Rei's was one of deep concentration. Makoto and Minako watched silently as seconds became minutes.

"OK, I'm bored," Minako shrugged finally. She leaned over to Ami. "What are you doing? Angry Birds?"

"I'm trying to find out more about this 'Urn Of The Ages'," Ami answered distantly as she searched. "Doesn't it strike you as odd?"

"A lot of things strike me as odd, mainly that I'm not as rich and famous as I should be," Minako replied. "Do you find something specifically odd?"

"This object is supposed to convey ultimate power," Ami explained as she searched. "The legend of it dates back at least to pre-Dynastic times in China." She looked up, directing her gaze at Minako and Makoto. "And yet, there are absolutely no recorded incidents of the power of this artifact being invoked. Why?"

"Nobody managed to meet the conditions to invoke it before?" guessed Makoto.

"Unlikely," Ami shook her head. "How difficult would it be, given the violent history of humanity, to obtain and sacrifice one hundred souls?"

"Maybe nobody could lay their hands on it to invoke it," suggested Minako. "Some benevolent priest hid it and nobody found it until now."

"Possible," Ami admitted in that way she had that told you she really didn't think it was likely.

"So you're saying it's all a fake?" Minako asked.

"Not likely," Ami frowned. "The more likely answer is that there's something to this object, some unspoken aspect of it that isn't commonly known. That bothers me."

"How about this?" Minako proposed. "The Urn gets invoked, the 'invokee' changes the world in his own image, but is eventually defeated by a band of righteous and incredibly photogenic do-gooders who manage to reverse the spell and set things right again."

"Quoting another one of your scripts, Blondie?" chuckled Makoto.

"Don't laugh," Minako mumbled with a sober look that Ami found curious.

"Forty-three," Rei exhaled distantly.

"No, thirty-two, thank you very much," cracked Minako.

"Shush," Makoto hissed.

"Point," Rei continued. "Seven, six, six, seven."

"What's that?" Makoto asked.

"Doesn't sound like an address," Minako pondered. "A weight, maybe?"

"One, four, two," Rei murmured. "Point three, six, six, seven."

"That's one big urn," Minako quipped.

"Longitude and latitude," Ami deduced. She plugged the numbers into her laptop. "It's the longitudinal and latitudinal coordinates for Asahikawa."

"Great. We know what city she's in," Minako scowled.

They waited for more. As they waited, Makoto noticed that Usagi's lips were moving slightly. The hairs on the back of Makoto's neck stood up.

"Asahikawa-shi," Rei breathed softly. Ami and the others listened intently. "Two Jodori, eight . . ."

"Yeah?" Makoto prodded.

But Rei's concentration seemed to collapse. Her head fell and Usagi seemed to come out of her trance.

"It's all I could get," Rei heaved.

"According to the map search software, it's a partial address in the commercial district," Ami stated. "And it isn't far from where we had our last skirmish with the Yuki-onna."

"It's a good place to start," Minako nodded.

"And if she's close," Rei said resolutely, "I'll sense her."

Continued in Chapter 7


	7. The One Hundredth Soul

THE URN OF THE AGES  
Chapter 7: "The One Hundredth Soul"  
A Sailor Moon fanfic

By Bill K.

* * *

Michiru Kaioh entered the home she shared with her mate, Haruka Tenoh, and doffed her coat and shoes. She was coming from a meeting with a local gallery, where she had been negotiating a showing of her latest works. The negotiations hadn't gone well. The gallery, citing the down-turned economy, couldn't give her the guarantees she wanted and felt she deserved, being an artist of her stature. No agreement had been reached, but the door was left open by both parties to resume at a later time.

She blew out a breath of fatigue. On the way home, she'd stopped and picked up a few things at the store. At the moment, she would have much rather gone out, hit a trendy restaurant and revel in being on the arm of so fine a creature as Haruka Tenoh. But Haruka had been in a mood lately and she knew from experience that her love would be poor company, if she even consented to go at all. So Michiru was going to content herself with giving Haruka a home-cooked meal and snuggle up on the sofa afterwards to try to lift her spirits.

"You back?" Haruka mumbled, looking up from, what else, a car magazine. "How did it go?"

"Poorly," Michiru revealed. "But they'll come around."

"And if they don't?"

"Then they don't," Michiru stated matter-of-factly. "I have standing offers from several buyers to purchase my work sight unseen. I'm only doing this show so the public can see them before they get tucked away in some private gallery or are cast adrift on the sea of art speculation." She sat on the back of the sofa. "So how are you doing?"

Haruka shrugged.

"You know, you've been this way ever since Junko told you she was going to college in Niigata," Michiru observed. "Is it the distance? Or is it the fact that she's growing up?"

"I don't have a problem with her growing up," grumbled Haruka. "And Niigata isn't that far away."

"Then what is it?" prodded Michiru.

"She's going to be a teacher," Haruka said.

"There's nothing wrong with being a teacher."

"You didn't hear her," Haruka scowled. "It was like she was - - settling."

"She's still trying to find her way in this world," Michiru told her. "She's going to try teaching. If she doesn't like it, she'll try something else. She certainly has the money to do so. You saw to that."

"Maybe I should just get her a job with the racing team," Haruka said.

"Answering fan mail? Oh yes, that'll be stimulating," smirked Michiru. Haruka frowned at her. "Well she's not going to be part of your pit crew."

"Maybe the sponsor . . ." Haruka began, but stopped when she felt Michiru's hand on her shoulder.

"Let her make her own way in the world," Michiru advised. "If she asks for help, then you can give it to her. But don't make decisions for her. The Junko I know wouldn't like it anymore than she likes her parents making decisions for her."

Haruka looked down. "I just want her to be happy."

"We can be intrusive and over-bearing with the best of intentions," Michiru said. She caressed Haruka's cheek. "She's made a decision. Respect it - - and butt out."

Haruka's head flopped back on the sofa. "Yeah, like it's that easy," she muttered. Michiru smiled.

The door buzzer interrupted. Curious, Michiru went to the door and peered out of the peep hole. Galvanized by what she saw, the woman pulled open the door.

"Setsuna," Michiru said with some surprise, ushering their longtime friend and partner into the outer hall. Haruka peered from the living room. "Is this a social call, or is there trouble?"

"I fear the latter," Setsuna said, doffing her shoes so they could join Haruka. "Though I cannot give you anything specific."

"But you sense something," Michiru concluded.

"It is - - unfocused - - general," Setsuna frowned. "It is like looking through a window covered in glaze. I see shadows, forms, but nothing I can precisely determine beyond a vague unease. But I fear the safety of The Princess is involved."

"Dumpling?" Haruka queried.

"Are the Senshi involved in something now?" Michiru questioned.

"I have spoken with Luna. She tells me they are currently in Asahikawa," Setsuna related.

"What are they doing up there?" gaped Haruka.

"It involves a mythical creature and an equally mythical object reputed to be of immense power," Setsuna explained.

"Well, if it's a threat to Usagi and the Inners might not be able to handle it," Michiru began.

"I can have us up there in no time," Haruka volunteered.

"Even with the roads in the shape they're in?" Michiru asked.

"I haven't seen the road I can't handle," Haruka replied confidently.

The three Outer Senshi nodded confidently, then headed for Haruka's Reventon.

* * *

Hiroki Matsushida was nineteen, a graduate of high school and unable to qualify for college. Since graduation he had worked a series of menial jobs that he continued to lose, either because he couldn't stand the work, couldn't stand his superiors, or couldn't stand getting up in the morning to report. He also couldn't stand most of his former friends, who had all passed him by in life and looked down on him with pity. He couldn't stand his parents, who saw him as a failure and nagged him to work harder. He couldn't stand the public, who seemed not to care about his situation.

About the only thing he could stand anymore was drinking, which is why he did it every night. It was one more reason why he couldn't hold a job or stay in a relationship. It was also why he was out on a frigid Asahikawa evening buying alcohol from a convenience store. His last bottle had been polished off at his apartment. This bottle might last long enough to get home - - maybe. If it didn't, he'd always go back and buy another, or boost it if he was short. For alcohol was his only friend now.

"Hello," came the seductive purr of a woman. Hiroki might have been buzzed, but he could still recognize the "come hither" tones of a woman. But when he saw her, he almost dropped his bottle. Long, straight, flowing black hair, flowing almost to the sidewalk; dark, penetrating green eyes floating on creamy white skin that seemed almost to glow in the light of the street lamp; a full figure draped in a diaphanous gown that hardly seemed protection against the cold winter night; she was beautiful - - inhumanly beautiful. And she was approaching him.

Hiroki smiled. "Hey, baby," he said, trying not to sound smarmy and overbearing and failing miserably. "Want to party? I got the juice for it." He motioned with the bottle of alcohol in the sack.

"I love to party," she replied, every syllable stoking his libido. She slithered up to him and pressed her soft, supple form against him. Two arms leisurely curled around his neck and full, red lips neared his. Hiroki's breath shuddered out. Tonight was going to be his lucky night.

"Venus Love Me Chain!" was the call, shattering the still of the night and breaking the spell over Hiroki. He stumbled back as golden links magically whipped around the woman, pulling tight and binding her seductive form. Following the chain, Hiroki saw Sailor Venus holding the chain tightly as Sailor Moon and the other famous Sailor Senshi ran up.

"Hold her, Venus!" Sailor Mars shouted. She was pressing a sacred ward to her forehead. Then the woman seemed to explode in a gigantic puff of snow and mist, the binding links falling to the sidewalk. Well that was all Hiroki could take. He turned and ran, ran for his life as the bag with the alcohol crashed to the sidewalk and shattered. And he didn't stop running until he was safely locked in his apartment.

"Now Jupiter!" Sailor Mercury shouted.

"Jupiter! Oak Evolution!" Sailor Jupiter called out. Electrical bursts fanned out from her in all directions, popping and snapping in the air and with anything it came in contact with. The bursts were even stronger than usual, her electricity given stronger life by the cold night air. Several of the burst hit their marks. The mist and snow reformed on the ground into Kagura. She crouched, glaring angrily at the Senshi, ready to fight or flee as the opportunity arose.

"Please, we don't want to hurt you if we don't have to," Sailor Moon said. Flanked by four Senshi ready to attack at the slightest provocation, she extended her hands and began approaching the Yuki-onna. "I understand that you're just trying to survive the only way you know how. But what you're doing is wrong. You're harming innocent people."

Kagura stared at her warily, but she didn't back away. Sailor Moon kept approaching.

"We can try to help you," she continued. "We can try to make it so you don't have to keep hurting people in order to live. But you have to stop this. Please. Please give me the Urn and turn away from this. Hurting people will never be the way to get what you desire. It can only lead you to defeat and ruin."

"You," Kagura said doubtfully, "can help me?"

"We can try," Sailor Moon offered with a smile of hope. "But this isn't the way. You think it will get you what you desire, but it won't. You're just fooling yourself."

"Yes," Kagura nodded. "Yes, you can help me."

She reached out to Sailor Moon's hands. When she grasped them, Sailor Moon smiled. Then Kagura shot to her feet, yanking Sailor Moon to her.

"You can be my one hundredth soul!" Kagura leered and lunged to kiss Sailor Moon.

"NO YOU DON'T!" roared Sailor Jupiter, who was on Kagura like a flash. The Senshi hooked her arm across Kagura's throat and clothes-lined her into a brutal hip toss. The creature slammed onto the pavement and lay stunned momentarily as Jupiter stood over her. Sailor Moon was behind Jupiter, stunned into silence.

Then Kagura began to laugh.

"At least your friends know better than to let down their guard," mocked the Yuki-onna. "'You're hurting people. Let me help you.' You actually thought you could sway me with that trash?"

"It's not trash!" Sailor Moon protested. "You can't gain anything lasting at the expense of another!"

"What do I care about humanity?" scoffed Kagura.

"You were human once!"

"I was an infant once, too," Kagura scowled. "But I grew out of it. Humanity is nothing to me but a means to prolong my life."

"Stop trying to reason with her, Sailor Moon," Mars said. Kagura saw that the ward she had was glowing. "There's only one way to deal with monsters."

Kagura gestured and the Senshi were once again hit with a gale-force wind and pelting snow. Using the diversion, Kagura pushed to her feet and sought to escape. Fighting off the snow, Sailor Moon summoned the Moon Tier.

"Silver Moon Crystal Power Kiss!" she yelled through the howling winds. Silver waves of energy radiated out, seeking Kagura to envelop in their loving caress.

Not waiting to see if the attack hit home, Mars struck out in pursuit of the snow creature. Trusting Mars to know where the creature went, Venus moved to follow. As they disappeared down the street, Sailor Moon's shoulders slumped.

"What's wrong?" Jupiter asked.

"I can't feel the attack on her," Sailor Moon replied. "She got away. Come on! We have to go after Mars and Venus! We have to stop her from hurting anyone else!"

"Right!" Jupiter nodded and took off after Sailor Moon with Mercury. "Hon', did you actually think you were going to talk her out of doing this?"

"Well, Yuriko realized what she was doing was wrong," Sailor Moon countered. "I figured that I might be able to get through to Kagura, too. I might be able to reach her humanity, like Shingo did with Yuriko, and avoid all of this."

"You took a large risk, Sailor Moon," Mercury gently admonished her. "I'm not certain it was a well-calculated risk, either."

"Yes, Mercury," Sailor Moon said. "Thank you for saving me, Jupiter."

Up ahead, Mars and Venus stopped at the intersection of the street they were on with another street.

"Did you lose her?" Venus asked.

"Shh!" Mars responded. "I'm trying to get a sense of her again."

The priest stood there for a tense moment, listening to something other than the sparse traffic and the few humans out on this cold night. Venus watched her for a sign, trying to ignore the cold and the pointing and shouts from the pedestrians. Suddenly Mars turned to her right, sending Venus scampering out of the way.

"Fire Soul!" Mars shouted, sending a fireball shooting into a darkened patch of the street between a bench and a building. The fireball exploded against the building, filling the area with red and orange light. That was when Venus spotted Kagura, scrambling from the darkness to avoid the flames. Arising from all fours, the Yuki-onna moved to flee again.

"Burning Mandala!" Mars shouted.

The mystic symbols burst up from the sidewalk, burning from the cement in a circle surrounding Kagura. The snow demon shrank from the mystic flames, weakened as much by the heat as by the sacred symbols themselves. The others ran up and saw Kagura trapped.

"Hey, you got her!" exclaimed Jupiter. "Can you bind her now?"

"That's going to be a little difficult," Mars said. "I can't bind her and maintain the mandala at the same time."

"So what do we do?" Venus asked.

Mars exhaled grimly. "One of you is going to have to kill her."

"Mars, you can't . . .!" screeched Sailor Moon.

"I can't hold her in this mandala forever!" snapped Mars. "And she's one soul away from ultimate power! There's no other way!"

"But you can't just kill her!" Sailor Moon protested. "She's still a human . . .!"

"She stopped being human a long time ago! Stop comparing her to Yuriko! Yuriko reclaimed her humanity! This one threw hers away willingly!"

Tears began to form in Sailor Moon's eyes.

"I'll do it," Venus stated with distaste.

"Venus?" gasped Sailor Moon.

"Mars says it's the only option in this case. Well, she's the expert," Venus replied. Her eyes glanced away. "Maybe you just shouldn't look."

Venus started for the trapped Yuki-onna, ready to hit her head on with the Senshi's strongest attack. Jupiter moved in front of Sailor Moon to try to shield her from the events. But Kagura's body began to swirl into mist again and whip along the heated air currents up and out of the mystic circle below.

"Crap! Venus! Love And Beauty Shock!" gasped Venus. Her attack shot up into the air and cleaved the mist dead center. But the mist just swirled around in the air.

"Mars! Flame Sniper!" Mars called out. The mandala vanished, fading away as Mars launched a new attack against the Yuki-onna.

Right then, a couple turned the corner and emerged in the midst of the pitched battle. The man, a pharmacist, and his wife returning from dining out, looked around and spotted Sailor Moon. It was the first time he'd ever seen anyone famous in Asahikawa. She was even more beautiful live than on the internet.

Above, Kagura began to coalesce from scattered mists back into her Yuki-onna form. Her first thought was to flee, to escape the deadly fires of the Senshi in red, and of the golden haired leader. Then she spotted the couple. Could she make it in time? The archer senshi already had her flaming bow out. Could she deliver her hundredth soul before the arrow of Sailor Mars cleaved her head from her neck? And in that mere instant, a thought came to Kagura the Yuki-onna: Success comes from audacity. The bold didn't always win, but the timid never did.

She shot towards the man at the speed of a gale force wind. Mars had just let the arrow go and knew that it would miss. Forming another arrow, her bow tracked Kagura's flight. The arrow fully formed and she prepared to fire. But Kagura was upon the man, her impact driving him back several steps. Locking her arms around him to hold his head in place, Kagura closed her eyes and kissed him.

"Silver Moon Crystal Power Kiss!" Sailor Moon shouted desperately, aiming the Moon Tier at Kagura even as Mars' arrow lowered.

His companion shrieked. The man stiffened as he felt his life force being drained from his body, up and through his mouth and into his beautiful attacker. And from the decolletage of her gown, an urn shaped from bone levitated up into the air. Finishing with her victim, Kagura let his dead body slump to the sidewalk. She looked up at the Urn with hungry anticipation. The inscription, carved into the side of the urn in Chinese characters, began to glow.

"We're too late," Mars whispered. Everybody looked anxiously at her. "She's invoked the Urn."

Reaching for it, Kagura licked her lips in anticipation of possessing eternal life and ultimate power.

Continued in Chapter 8


	8. Power Without Compassion

THE URN OF THE AGES  
Chapter 8: "Power Without Compassion"  
A Sailor Moon fanfic

By Bill K.

* * *

"We're too late," Mars whispered. Everybody looked anxiously at her. "She's invoked the Urn."

Reaching for it, Kagura licked her lips in anticipation of possessing eternal life and ultimate power.

"Mercury! Aqua Rhapsody!" Mercury called out. The Urn was engulfed in a wave of water that quick froze around it. Desperately Kagura reached for it, but she couldn't penetrate the ice.

"Is that going to do it?" Jupiter asked.

"I don't know," Mars replied. "Sailor Moon! Use you Moon Tier on it! Destroy it if you can, but at least seal it away so she can't get to it!"

"Right!" Sailor Moon nodded. "Silver Moon Crystal Power Kiss!"

At her behest, silver waves of energy fanned out from the Moon Tier and surrounded the Urn still trapped in the ice. Kagura instantly recoiled from it, frustration and anger twisting her elegant features. Inside the ice, the Urn seemed to shimmer and vibrate. Everybody stared. Was it reacting to the silver energy? Or was it still trying to invoke its legendary power? Venus glanced at Sailor Moon and saw the Senshi was struggling to maintain containment of the Urn, like it was fighting her. She wanted to help, but didn't know how. Sailor Moon was the heavy hitter of the group. If her power couldn't contain this object, what chance did any of the others have?

And with another moment's passing, the ice around the Urn exploded outward. Simultaneously Sailor Moon staggered back, only just keeping her feet. The Urn glowed intense yellow, then white, and then the light obliterated any sight of it. Everyone shielded their eyes until the massive glow died down. When they dared, they looked.

Hovering above them all was a humanoid form, though it was five times as big as any human. It was a man, dressed in the ornate silk robes of someone from ancient China. His face was long and aquiline, with pronounced cheekbones and a high forehead beneath a widow's peak. His hair was black and spilled down his back, while a twirled, string-like mustache dangled from his lip to his chest on either side of his mouth. His head was tilted back and he took a breath, long and deep as if it were the first breath drawn in a great while. Then his head moved forward, his hooded eyes opening into a permanent squint, and he surveyed his surroundings.

"At last," Kagura exclaimed with joy. "At last I have managed to invoke the spirit of The Urn Of The Ages!" She reached up like a greedy child. "Grant me the power I have sought for so long!"

The apparition looked down at her without emotion.

"Indeed?" he commented. Kagura grew angry.

"Grant me the power!" she demanded. "I have fulfilled the contract! I have sacrificed the necessary souls! Give me what I have earned!"

"And so you shall have it," the apparition replied.

And in that instant, Mars realized what her premonition dream was trying to warn her would happen.

His hand emerged from the flared sleeve it had been tucked into and he pointed with a single finger. And Kagura was engulfed in a supernatural blue flame. The eyes of the Senshi popped as they heard Kagura scream out in agony. Within seconds, though, the scream died away. Moments later the flame did as well. All that was left behind was a scorched sidewalk and some fine ash that the north wind carried into the sky.

"Such is the fate of all who seek to command Li Che Yang," the apparition said with a hint of superiority.

"You - - killed her," Sailor Moon gasped.

"Yes, I did," Li Che Yang responded, unconcerned.

"Why?"

Li Che Yang looked down upon her with surprise and just a little contempt. But Sailor Moon's expression of horror didn't change, so clearly she wasn't being ironic.

"Because she offended me," he replied. "And because I could. And just who are you to think you can question me?"

"Mars," Mercury leaned over and whispered to Sailor Mars. She had disengaged her visor because its telemetry was useless in this situation. "Is that really the Chinese sorcerer who forged The Urn Of The Ages?"

"I guess," Mars replied, awestruck. "I'm sensing a massive spiritual presence from him. I don't know who or what else it could be."

"I'm Sailor Moon," the lead senshi responded with just a touch of irritation, "and killing is wrong, no matter what reason you might use for justification."

"Is it really?" Li Che Yang asked, his eyebrow raised humorously. "I see that you are truly unlike any human I've ever encountered. Perhaps you can provide a reason why I should give your childish sentiments a second thought. Very well, use your power against me. Put me in my place."

"Is that necessary?" Sailor Moon asked. "Can't you see that violence is futile? Tests of strength never proved anything. True strength comes from the ability to show compassion for others, even if they have wronged you."

"A pacifist," the apparition judged. "Your kind disgusts me so. Very well, pacifist, let's see how long it takes to provoke a violent response from the non-violent."

Li Che Yang gestured. A bold of blue-white energy lanced down and struck Sailor Venus. The Senshi was hurled backwards, emitting a terrible howl of pain, and send skidding along the sidewalk until she impacted with a store front.

"VENUS!" exclaimed Sailor Moon. Jupiter ran to her teammate's side and knelt down next to her. After a cursory glanced, she looked up at the apparition and glared. The lightning rod in her tiara began to telescope up.

But a second blue-white bolt shot out in a flash and struck Jupiter chest high. The Senshi was hurled backwards and rolled to a stop twenty feet from Venus.

"SILVER MOON CRYSTAL POWER KISS!" Sailor Moon shouted frantically, pointing the Moon Tier at Li Che Yang.

Once more silver waves radiated out from the Moon Tier, seeking Li Che Yang out with aggressive, hungry abandon. Within a certain distance, they began swirling around the sorcerer, orbiting him until they had formed a containment bubble around him. Li Che Yang hovered passively as the silver energy sought to work its magic upon him. Sailor Moon bore down, focusing all of her ability through the Moon Tier, seeking to quell this threat quickly so that no one else could be injured or worse.

"Are you done?" Li Che Yang asked at length. Everyone still upright looked in amazement. The containment field of silver crystal energy was still surrounding him on all sides. He seemed unaffected, though.

Then Li Che Yang extended his arms and the silver containment bubble exploded outward. Sailor Moon stood there, dumbfounded. The sorcerer smiled.

"Now you must pay for your arrogance," he said simply.

The blue-white energy struck before she had even seen it coming. Sailor Moon cried out as her view of the world tumbled up and around. She impacted with a hard surface, pain shooting through every inch of her. It dislodged the Moon Tier from her hand and the talisman bounced away. Her vision was gone, covered in a sea of red. Maintaining the ability to think was a struggle. The red washed away, replaced by a million yellow sparks on a field of blue and green. Dimly she heard a voice. Was it Jupiter? Mars maybe? She couldn't tell what they were saying.

And then everything clicked back into place. Sailor Moon was on the ground, on her stomach, trying to brace herself on limp limbs and rise to her feet so she could protect everyone. Her head swiveled. Venus was helping Jupiter to her feet. Mars and Mercury were staring at her with wide-eyed looks of terror. It had been Mars who had shouted something at her, something unfortunately lost to her.

"Interesting," Li Che Yang commented. Sailor Moon's gaze shifted to him, towering over her in the air. "You should be dead. Well, let's see what a second shot will do."

Movement caught Sailor Moon's eye. She turned and saw Mars move. Sailor Moon could also see that Mars was mad as a hornet.

"MARS SNAKE FIRE!" roared the Senshi in red.

Instantly the Senshi exploded in an inferno of fire. Li Che Yang stayed his hand and looked on in amusement. The fire engulfing Mars' body grew higher until it began to take form, the form of a towering snake. Higher the snake grew until it towered over the sorcerer apparition. The snake's fiery tongue darted out once, then it opened its mouth and hissed like a burning ember in water. Li Che Yang looked up at it impassively. The snake lunged, fangs bared.

With the speed of thought, the sorcerer's hand shot out and caught the snake just under its mouth. Caught in the intractable grip, the fire snake twisted and writhed in an effort to escape and complete its mission. Li Che Yang let it twist for a few moments. Then he closed his hand. The fire snake came apart and dissipated harmlessly.

With growing dread, Sailor Moon watched Mars look up helplessly at the apparition towering over them. She knew Mars had nothing left after launching her max attack and was defenseless against the sorcerer. Struggling desperately to get up, Sailor Moon whispered a feeble plea to Mars to run. But it was too soft to be heard.

The blue-white energy shot down and struck Mars, flinging her backwards from the spot she was on. Her body hurled away, striking the pavement near a lamp post and skidding to a stop in the intersection crosswalk.

"Mars!" Sailor Moon croaked out. Mars didn't respond. Li Che Yang turned to Sailor Mercury.

"And will you try to oppose me as well?" he asked calmly.

"What exactly are your intentions?" Mercury inquired.

"My intentions?" he repeated, surprised by the question. "Once they had been conquest and power over all - - but that no longer holds any interest for me. Being imprisoned in The Urn since the last time has given me time to reflect. Ruling a planet of inferiors seems a pointless waste of my time now."

"A wise decision," Mercury concurred.

"I think," Li Che Yang began, twirling his long mustache with one finger, "I shall sow chaos and destruction. Inspiring panic and fear among the rabble until the last one dies horribly should prove to be an amusing diversion. And then I'll simply recreate all life upon the planet. After that, I may do it again - - or I may subject them to something else. I've really no set plans after that. But I have the rest of eternity to decide."

"You spoke of 'the last time'," Mercury observed. "Please explain."

The expression on Li Che Yang's face grew dark. Mercury realized she had triggered an unpleasant memory. The sorcerer looked down on her.

"I choose not to," he replied stonily. "I dislike intellectuals. The intellectuals tried to warn the Emperor against me. They despised me because they could not control me. They caused my spell to reflect back upon itself . . ." The sorcerer stopped and composed himself. "You annoy me. I think I'll destroy you now and not bother to remake you later."

"JUPITER COCONUT CYCLONE!"

Everyone turned. Jupiter was on her feet, while Venus was crouched and gathering her strength. With every heartbeat, dark clouds began gathering over them. The cold February winds began to swirl, picking up speed with every moment. Li Che Yang looked up at the darkening clouds, the growing winds causing the folds of his silk robe to flutter around his legs. A lightning bolt struck, causing him to flinch. It and his general demeanor were quickly noted by Mercury. The sorcerer was no longer superior. Jupiter's max attack had made him wary.

But all the Senshi knew that the worst was yet to come. The wind continued to pick up speed until it spun around them with cyclonic force. Light poles swayed violently in the wind. Thunder rumbled and echoed through the streets of Asahikawa. The people who had gathered to watch the vaunted Sailor Senshi battle yet another threat to the safety of Japan now scattered for shelter in the face of the elemental fury of the storm. Sailor Moon struggled to her feet, skirt and hair trails whipping around her. She retrieved the Moon Tier and waited anxiously for what she knew and feared was coming.

Without warning, the lightning bolt struck. It was a massive bolt, twenty times greater than any recorded lightning bolt in history. The bolt shot down and, in a blinding flash of light, struck Li Che Yang. The area was engulfed in light from the bolt, blotting everything out. The concurrent thunder clap nearly deafened everyone in the area, shattered every window for a half mile, and rumbled in every direction, shaking the city to its core. As sight returned, Sailor Moon could see Jupiter standing there, glaring and panting. Everything she had was in that attack.

But what of Li Che Yang? Sailor Moon looked up and found the sorcerer curled in a fetal ball. Smoke rolled off of the bright robe he wore. For a moment the future queen wondered if he was dead. Then Li Che Yang began to uncurl. He rose haltingly to his full height. The Senshi could see that Jupiter had hurt him, but that he wasn't dead.

He also wasn't happy.

"The arrogance," he hissed.

Li Che Yang waved his hand from his front to his back. A shock wave sprang out and shot across the east side of Asahikawa like the force from a nuclear explosion. Buildings were flattened for more than a mile. Sailor Moon and the Senshi all gasped in horror. It reminded them too much of the destruction they had witnessed a year ago from the earthquake and tsunami. The others stared mutely at the visible destruction. Mercury reasoned that anyone inside one of those buildings had to be crushed and dead. The death toll could number hundreds, and just from the sweep of one hand.

Then Li Che Yang swept his right hand in the same manner. A shock wave spread out from the arc, leveling the west part of the city for over a mile.

"STOP IT!" shrieked Sailor Moon.

"Again you seek to command Li Che Yang," the sorcerer said, an eyebrow arched indignantly.

"Would it help if I begged?" Sailor Moon pleaded.

"No," he said. "It would earn my contempt."

"Well that would put her just about where you are," they heard Venus say, and turned to look, "because you sure have earned mine."

There was a look in the normally flighty, fun-loving woman's face that her friends rarely recalled seeing. It was one of naked, cold rage. There was also a strange golden glow to her hands.

"Rolling - - Heart - - VIBRATION!" fumed Venus.

Golden energy sprang from her hands and formed a gigantic heart-shaped ball of energy that began spinning in place. The heart continued to pick up speed until whatever force that was holding it in place couldn't hold it any longer. Like a cannon ball, the spinning heart shot across the distance between Venus and Li Che Yang in the span of a single second. The heart impacted with the gigantic apparition, rocking the area with a violent explosion and a massive flash of light.

"What was that?" gasped Jupiter.

"Justice," snarled Sailor Venus through clenched teeth.

The light dissipated. Li Che Yang still stood.

"None of this makes sense!" Mercury said. She had her visor down again, but was shaking her head.

"Your scanners can't collect telemetry on the supernatural," Mars advised her.

"I know that," Mercury replied. "But the energy expenditures, both from him and from us, are on a scale that can't possibly be maintained. You three are maxed out and I doubt my max attack will have any effect. Yet he seems barely hurt. Where is he drawing this power from?"

"Do you have any other tricks?" Li Che Yang asked. It was as Mercury had assessed. He was hurt, but he was far from crippled, while only Mercury and Sailor Moon could mount any sort of resistance. The sorcerer raised his hand.

"Don't do this!" pleaded Sailor Moon. "There must be something in you, some bit of compassion! These are living, breathing people whose lives are going to be destroyed by what you do! Please don't hurt them!"

Yang heaved a sigh of fatigue and frustration. "No more words. I don't care about humans. They mean nothing to me. I am above them now." He looked directly at Sailor Moon. "As you will be above them soon, if I let you live. And that's another reason why I'm going to destroy you all. You're not a threat to me - - now." His hand began to glow.

"SILVER MOON CRYSTAL POWER KISS!" Sailor Moon shrieked, pointing the Moon Tier directly at him.

Silver energy formed around the towering apparition, encasing him. With a look of mounting annoyance, Li Che Yang hurled his power against the containment bubble around him. Sailor Moon groaned audibly, but bore down and maintained the bubble. It only caused the sorcerer to increase his attack.

"The legends are true, you know," Yang said. "Only the power of the Tiangu I killed has been able to check my power. It's the power to make everything I desire come true." He grimaced with exertion. "Some things just take longer."

Mercury knew Sailor Moon was their only chance right now. The jewel on her tiara flared to life and she transmitted her power to Sailor Moon. The others tried to do the same, but they had nothing left to give.

"Only the spirit of that Tiangu has forced me back into the Urn in the past," Yang proclaimed, "and I don't have to concern myself with that this time."

A shrill cry, which Sailor Moon tried to suppress, escaped from her. And in a wink the silver containment bubble dissipated. Feedback from the bubble, coupled with energy waves from Li Che Yang, reflected back and scattered the Senshi. They were knocked down like pins in an alley. The others didn't move. Sailor Moon struggled to rise again, but there wouldn't be enough time.

Continued in Chapter 9


	9. Help From An Unexpected Source

THE URN OF THE AGES  
Chapter 9: "Help From An Unexpected Source"  
A Sailor Moon fanfic

By Bill K.

* * *

Sailor Moon struggled to get up from the sidewalk. She had to protect everyone: Her friends, the people of Asahikawa, the people of the world. That's why she had this terrible power that was so hard to control and so dangerous if fully unleashed. That's why Luna had come to her that day, scaring her out of ten years growth when the cat actually spoke, and bestowing upon her the mantle of Sailor Moon. Everyone was counting on her. She had to get up. She had to protect them.

"I can help you," came a voice. Sailor Moon stopped. Was it an actual sound she heard or one just in her head.

"W-Who?" she mumbled, looking around quizzically as Li Che Yang loomed over them and prepared to strike for the final time.

"Invoke me," the voice said.

"World Shaking!"

That wasn't her or the voice. That voice she knew. She also knew the familiar sound of geo-force bursting across the ground, disturbing the sound barrier and exploding into its target. Sailor Uranus was here, somehow. Hands closed around her upper arms and helped her up. Sailor Moon glanced over her shoulder and found Sailor Pluto behind her, the woman's normally fixed expression overcome with concern for her.

"Be careful, Uranus!" she heard Sailor Neptune shout. Twisting around, Sailor Moon saw Neptune off to one side, looking into her Deep Aqua Mirror as she directed the attack. "Be ready for a counterattack!"

"More arrogance," scowled Li Che Yang. "I grow weary of this constant interference. Have none of you the sense to know your betters?"

Warned by Neptune, Uranus easily evaded the blast of energy from the sorcerer's hand. Judging that World Shaking had no effect, Uranus summoned her Space Sword and maneuvered for an opening.

"Are you injured, My Princess?" Pluto asked with unconcealed concern. Sailor Moon shook her head unconvincingly.

"No," she wheezed. "Just - - have to protect everyone."

"Gather your strength," Pluto advised her. "We will guard you until then."

Pluto rose up to her full height. Yang saw her and turned his attention to her as Pluto brandished her staff with the Garnet Orb atop it. Immediately Uranus saw her opening.

"Space Sword Blaster!" Uranus shouted. Cutting energy arcs shot out from the blade and impacted the towering apparition. Yang grimaced and turned toward the annoyance. It was all Pluto needed.

"Dead Scream," she said softly, pointing the Garnet Orb at him. A sonic blast shot out from the orb, slamming into Yang with terrific force. Staggered by the blow, Yang turned back to Pluto.

"Space Sword Blaster!" Uranus shouted again. More energy arcs cut into the apparition's side, drawing another reaction from him. His hands shot out, one aimed at Uranus while the other pointed at Pluto.

"Submarine Reflection," Neptune said coldly. A crimson beam lanced out from the Deep Aqua Mirror, striking Li Che Yang in the back and actually burning through his silk robe. The sorcerer grunted loudly in pain. At that point, Pluto struck again.

Sailor Moon struggled to her feet, the Moon Tier dangling limply in her hands. Neptune shot her a momentarily glance to assess her condition, then continued to batter Yang with the beam from her mirror.

"Have to protect," Sailor Moon mumbled. She tried to raise the Moon Tier, but it was like lead in her hands. She looked around. Mars and Mercury were still down. Jupiter was sitting up and Venus was beginning to stir, but neither one could mount any sort of defense. "Need . . .everyone needs. . .you. . ."

Pluto turned at the sound of a small sigh and saw Sailor Moon slump to the pavement.

* * *

"I knew I should have gone with her," Mamoru mumbled.

Luna looked up from her computer and saw Mamoru fling open the apartment door and plunge out without bothering to close it.

"What happened?" asked Artemis, on the screen in a real-time conversation with the black cat.

"Oh dear," Luna swallowed. "Mamoru just bolted out of the apartment. It must mean things aren't going well."

"Given the satellite pictures I'm getting out of Asahikawa, not to mention the seismic activity," Artemis concurred, "you're probably right. And Mamoru is a pretty good barometer of that."

"What can we do? The beacons on the Outer Senshi already show that they're in the area. What other options do we have?"

"This is always the hardest part," Artemis grimaced. "Waiting and trusting in them to come back in one piece."

* * *

"Do you hope to protect your people?"

Sailor Moon looked around and saw nothing. Everywhere around her was a beige nothing. There was no ground and no sky, no horizon, no up or down, left or right, or anything. She was her only reference point. Confusion and panic began to take control of her.

"Do you hope to save everyone from him?"

Turning to the sound of the voice, Sailor Moon saw it. It was a giant dog, with a pointed snout and huge fangs poking out from under its lips. Red eyes burned down at her from its fur-covered skull. Its ears were up and at attention, and pointy ridges grew out from above its eyes. The body was thick with muscles. Its coat was brown and black, shaggy and unkempt. The beast reminded her of something, something she had fought before but couldn't recall. Danger and power radiated from its muscular body and menacing glare, but it was power that was muzzled and leashed. Sailor Moon didn't know how to react to it.

"Do you wish to defeat the human sorcerer?" the Tiangu demanded, though its mouth never once moved.

"Y-Yes," Sailor Moon stammered out.

"Then invoke me!" the Tiangu declared.

"W-What are you?" Sailor Moon asked. "Where is this place? Where are my friends?" She turned frantically. "My friends! I have to protect them!"

"You cannot," the Tiangu stated. Sailor Moon turned back and stared at it, horrified. "You do not yet possess the knowledge. The power resides within you. I see it. I feel it. I thought the accursed Li Che Yang was the most powerful human I had ever encountered. But you possess power beyond what even he has mastered."

Its eyes narrowed.

"But you are still a pup," the Tiangu continued. "You do not possess the ability to bring it forth. You have not yet matured enough to bring it forth. As such, you would perish at his hand and he would be free to reign over all."

"Then teach me," Sailor Moon requested. "Show me how so I can save everyone."

The Tiangu's mouth pulled back almost in a smirk. "I am no teacher, and it is not something that can be taught. You must mature. Only then will your power blossom. No, you have only one hope of defeating Li Che Yang. Invoke me."

"You can stop him?"

"I have in the past," the Tiangu nodded. "Every time some fool human has fulfilled the conditions of the spell and invoked Li Che Yang, I have returned and trapped him again in The Urn Of The Ages. It is my revenge upon him for killing me, and for mutilating my corpse to use my skull as The Urn. I have committed the rest of my eternity to defeating him and returning him to his prison in The Urn out of vengeance. Invoke me. Give me the satisfaction of avenging myself upon him again. Only you have the spiritual power to sunder the fetters and muzzle he has placed upon me. I forego any and all demands of payment. His cries of agony when he is once again defeated will be satisfaction enough for me."

Sailor Moon stood indecisively. She didn't want to contribute to this vicious circle of greed and retribution, but her friends and the people she swore to protect needed help - - more help than she could give.

"How do I do it?" she asked. "How do I invoke you?"

"Touch my forehead," the Tiangu said, then pulled its mouth back with vicious humor. "I vow I will not bite you."

Innocently Sailor Moon reached out and placed her left hand on the creature's forehead, for she was still holding the Moon Tier in her right.

"Now invoke me," it said.

"I invoke you?" Sailor Moon said tentatively.

And she was back on the sidewalk in Asahikawa. Sailor Moon looked up and for a moment saw a blue-white light streak across her field of vision and strike Jupiter. Then she focused on what was happening.

Uranus was dangling ten feet in the air, grasping at an invisible force that held her by the neck. She was to Li Che Yang's right, while Pluto was directly ahead of him and Neptune to his left. They were also dangling from invisible forces clamped around their throats.

"That's more like it," Yang said confidently. "You have all assumed your rightful places in the order of things. Now I may enjoy you. Struggle to escape me and let me laugh because I know you have no hope of it. If you give me enough amusement, I shall recreate you after you are dead and we can continue this ballet. Dance for me. Dance for my amusement."

Sailor Moon tried to get up, but she was still too weak. The entire episode with the beastly dog must have been a hallucination. She had to get up to save them. But as she tried to rise, Sailor Moon's head began to swim again. Doggedly her hand struggled up and tried to grip her tiara. She had to do something.

Then from out of the heavens, as if the gods themselves were striking him down, came a bolt of lighting. It struck Li Che Yang square on and the sorcerer seized up in agony. The Outer Senshi all fell back to Earth, landing in heaps at his feet. When the lightning bolt was spent, Yang staggered back and tried to regroup.

"J-Jupiter?" Sailor Moon mumbled. She twister her head around. There was Sailor Jupiter, standing tall and erect, her hands cupped at her sides. Her brown hair flowed along the disturbed air currents. Her head was flung back and her eyes were closed in calm serenity. From the sidewalk, Sailor Venus looked up at her friend, awestruck.

"You!" roared Li Che Yang, his robes still smoking from being struck again. "I had you imprisoned! There was no way you could have escaped!"

"You thought me dead, too, once," replied Sailor Jupiter, but it wasn't Sailor Jupiter's voice. Sailor Moon recognized the voice as that of the beastly dog she'd seen in her vision and the hairs on the back of her neck stood up. "But I made a vow to rise up and beat you back down, to avenge myself against you for my defeat and my death. And I am here, Li Che Yang. Your time is once again over in this place."

* * *

In Tokyo, as in the entire country, programming had been interrupted by news coverage of the battle in Asahikawa. Prime Minister Hino had even addressed the country live, assuring them that self-defense forces were en route to the city and that everything was under control. It was something a country still nervous from events of eleven short months ago needed to hear, even if they weren't certain they could believe him. What reassured them more than Prime Minister Hino's words was the live pictures being broadcast of the Sailor Senshi in pitched battle with this towering ancient Chinese wizard.

"Isn't the news done yet?" Akiko asked peevishly. Sanjuro Ikegami turned and found his daughter standing in the doorway to the room. "I wanted to watch Soul Eater."

"Are you done with your homework?" Sanjuro asked, searching for a means to get her out of the room and away from the television without actually letting her know he was trying to get her out of the room.

"Yes," Akiko sighed impatiently. Then her eyes widened to twice their size. "IS THAT MOM ON TV?"

Unbidden, she ran into the room and planted herself in front of the television. Akiko sat in wondrous awe as the television showed Sailor Jupiter hitting the towering sorcerer with a massive lightning bolt. Given what he'd seen earlier, Sanjuro was uneasy about letting Akiko watch. Silently he was thankful Ichiro wasn't here.

"Wow!" exclaimed the young girl. "Mom is such a bad ass!"

"Where did you pick that up from?" Sanjuro asked.

"Aunt Minako," Akiko reported, her eyes glued to the action.

Leaning forward, Sanjuro caught his daughter under the arms and hoisted her into his lap - - not an easy trick, as she was nine now and not small. Akiko's eyes refused to leave the television the entire time.

"I don't think it would be a good idea for you to use that term anymore," Sanjuro suggested, "especially around your mother."

"I suppose it's not something 'a lady would do'," grumbled the girl. Jupiter struck Li Che Yang with another bolt and Akiko pumped her fist. "YEAH, HIT HIM AGAIN, MOM!"

"Akiko," Sanjuro began. "This has been a pretty rough fight for your mom and the other Senshi. This guy, whoever he is, has, well, been a pretty tough customer."

"It's OK, Dad," Akiko said, glancing back at him. "Mom and the Senshi will win. They always win. You just got to believe."

Sanjuro swallowed as his daughter returned her attention to the television.

"Yeah," he croaked out. "I guess I do."

* * *

Venus had made her way over to the others. After checking Sailor Moon, she went over to Mercury and Mars. Mars was awake, but still down. Mercury was on her knees, checking Mars' pulse.

"What's the word?" Venus asked. "You two gonna be up in time to make the curtain call?"

"I can't imagine how Jupiter is generating that much power," Mercury responded.

"I know," Venus smirked. "I FINALLY generate my max attack and she has to go and top me. Some people just hate getting upstaged, I guess."

"She's possessed," Mars whispered. But Sailor Moon heard it and turned in horror to them. "I can sense it. She's radiating demon energy. I think it's a Tiangu."

"Yeah, I kind of got that drift," Venus sobered. "Sounds like this boy has a grudge against The Wiz. Much as I hate Tiangus, this boy is doing some serious butt-kicking. Maybe we should just let him do his work and then extract him from Jupiter."

Reeling and enraged, Li Che Yang summoned his supernatural energy and flung it at Jupiter. Jupiter merely raised her hands to two-thirds above her head. Her palms began to spark. The energy struck an electrical field. Energy sizzled and spat as the two incompatible forms reacted to momentarily sharing the same space. Yang's attack, though, did not penetrate the electrical field. Finally it spent itself and died away.

Once more Jupiter flung her head back, returning her hands to her sides. There was an ominous rumble to the clouds above. Then another lightning bolt struck. But taking a leaf from his opponent, Li Che Yang formed a protective shield around himself. The lightning sizzled around the shield, unable to reach its target.

"Assuming he doesn't burn her out first," Mercury voiced her concern. Everyone looked at her. "I'm monitoring her vital signs with my visor. Heart rate, respiration and body temperature are all dangerously elevated. And she's channeling more electricity than she's ever been capable of. There's no possible way her body can stand up to such prolonged levels of use. Every moment that being occupies her body, the greater the risk of it doing permanent damage to it - - possibly even killing her."

Hearing that, Sailor Moon tried to get up. However, her legs gave out underneath her and she flopped back down onto the sidewalk. Venus was by her side in an instant.

"Hey, not so fast!" Venus cautioned. "You took a bigger hit than any of us! Don't try to get back into the game until you've got your legs under you!"

"But you heard Mercury!" Sailor Moon exclaimed. "We have to help Jupiter!"

"We've got nothing to help her with, Sailor Moon," Venus told her. "Except for Mercury, we've shot all of our bullets. We're going to have to leave it in the hands of Jupiter and that Tiangu inside of her."

Sailor Moon looked fearfully at Venus, then shifted her gaze to Sailor Jupiter. There had to be something she could do. Even if it meant her life, she couldn't allow Sailor Jupiter to fall this night.

Continued in Chapter 10


	10. Vengeance Is Mine

THE URN OF THE AGES  
Chapter 10: "Vengeance Is Mine"  
A Sailor Moon fanfic

By Bill K.

* * *

In the living room of his small apartment, Hayami Fujihara sat watching television coverage of the battle raging in Asahikawa. He had more than a curious interest in it. As most Japanese, this was a potential disaster and coming so soon after the disaster of the previous year it was very hard to take. It was as if they had all angered the gods and this was the penance they all had to suffer through. Hayami could hear the stories his grandfather told him of the deprivations after World War II, of how it seemed like just one thing after another until life almost seemed hopeless. Not that he was particularly religious or superstitious, but one had to wonder about how much of this could be coincidence.

What made it personal was the revelation his fiancé, Ami Mizuno, had made to him just weeks earlier. She was Sailor Mercury. That revelation made this personal, because he could see glimpses of Sailor Mercury, the woman he was going to marry, as the television camera mounted on the overhead helicopter panned around the scene. It was difficult then to believe that the reticent genius he'd become fond of was one of the greatest warriors Japan had ever known. It was almost impossible to believe it now. But Ami had no logical reason to lie about it, as she saw bragging as a counterproductive human trait. So there she was, laying her life on the line for the sake of Japan and its people.

Hayami's mouth suddenly felt dry. What if she never came back? What if she died trying to protect others? Could he cope with that?

And what if she died on camera, with him watching? Could he cope with that?

Leaning forward on his chair, hands unconsciously cupped across his mouth, Hayami watched the broadcast intently, urgently. The thought of her in the midst of all of that flashing energy made him more and more nervous with every moment it continued.

"Please be safe, Ami," Hayami whispered.

* * *

"Have you seen any sign of her?" Shingo asked. He and Yuriko were also intently following the news reports from Asahikawa.

"No," Yuriko shook her head. "I haven't seen anyone who comes close to looking like Kagura, or any other Yuki-onna."

"You suppose the urn changed her into that?" Shingo asked. "I've followed Sailor Moon's career pretty closely. She's run into some pretty strange things."

"It's hard to tell through this television broadcast," Yuriko disagreed, "but I don't think that's Kagura. It's closer to the wizard in the old legend - - the one who forged The Urn from the skull of a Tiangu."

"Suppose something happened to her?"

"Probably," Yuriko frowned. "She was fooling around with powerful magic. It may have been too much for her and - - and consumed her."

"Sorry," Shingo offered. Yuriko shook her head.

"Kagura got what she deserved," Yuriko stated. "She had no love in her heart. Even among Yuki-onna, we knew she was cruel and distant."

"Lucky for me you were never like that," Shingo smiled, clasping her delicate hand.

"I was," Yuriko confessed. "Never to her level, but I was a predator like her once." She glanced gratefully at Shingo. "Luckily for me, this wolf found a lamb worth giving up her fangs for." She sobered and looked back at the television. "I'm going to be selfish again. I hope they win - - The Senshi. Because if they lose, it means I'm going to lose you so soon after I found you. And I really don't want that to happen."

"Yeah," Shingo agreed. He reached over and placed his hand on Yuriko's abdomen. "I know what you mean. But I believe in Sailor Moon."

* * *

In Asahikawa, Li Che Yang stabbed out with his right hand while his left went to his temple. He stared down intently at his target, the possessed senshi Sailor Jupiter.

"BEGONE FROM ETERNITY!" the wizard raged. "FROM ALL SPACE I BANISH YOU, FOR ALL TIME I BAR YOU!"

Jupiter only smiled.

"Again you attempt that?" the Tiangu asked through Jupiter's mouth, electricity spitting and sparking in her hands. "How many times have we fought, human? How many times have you tried to banish me from reality with a thought? You cannot banish me! My hatred of you will not let you!"

"DO NOT CALL ME HUMAN!" roared Yang. "I AM NO LONGER HUMAN! I HAVE RISEN ABOVE SUCH STATION!"

"There are limits to your power," Jupiter continued as if he hadn't spoken. "You are not the god you seek to be. You only succeeded in slaying me through treachery. And I have thwarted your ambitions ever since, as I shall again now."

"You shall only DIE!"

Forming a sword out of the blue-white energy he commanded, Li Che Yang brought it up in a sweeping arc and delivered it with the intent of cleaving Sailor Jupiter and dispelling her atoms to the heavens. But the sword impacted on the electric barrier Jupiter erected and went no further. Sparks flew and lit up the area with bright white light.

"Again you attack and again you are stopped," snarled Jupiter. "You can only succeed when you strike from behind or from the shadows."

Yang slashed again with his energy sword.

"But I don't really have to hit you, do I?" the sorcerer grinned viciously. "All I have to do is outlast you! Sooner or later the human who hosts your damnable spirit will burn out and die! And then I can finally strike you down once and for all and be RID OF YOU!"

"Another gambit you have tried before," Jupiter snapped back, "and another gambit that has failed! My hunger for vengeance against you will outlive a thousand human hosts! I will go through the entire population of this world if it means seeing you trapped back in that abominable Urn you created, writhing in your own frustration!"

"Mars!" Sailor Moon turned and hissed frantically at her companion. "Did you hear that? We've got to do something!"

"We already threw everything we had against that wizard," Mars shook her head wearily. "He's beyond my power - - beyond our power. And Jupiter - - she's possessed by a Tiangu. I couldn't take on a Tiangu at full strength."

"But you heard him! Jupiter's going to die if this lasts much longer!"

"Yes, I heard him! What do you expect us to do that we haven't already done?"

"My Princess," Pluto said, kneeling next to Sailor Moon. She and the other Outers had made their way over and regrouped with the other Senshi. "Uranus, Neptune and I are not as drained as you all our. Though our attacks have had little effect on this adversary, we could at least be a distraction to him."

"Yeah, maybe it'll give that thing inside of Jupiter a shot at ending this," Uranus added.

"Anything you could do would be greatly appreciated," Sailor Moon said hopefully. Uranus nodded. "Thank you!"

"Anything for you, Dumpling," grinned Uranus.

She looked at Neptune and Neptune nodded. Neptune looked at Pluto and Pluto nodded. Circling to flank Li Che Yang, the three Outer Senshi moved into position to attack. The sorcerer was too busy slashing at Jupiter's electrical field to notice them. When they reached a position Neptune was comfortable with, she silently signaled the others. They waited a moment, and then opened fire.

"Space Sword Blaster!"

"Submarine Reflection!"

"Dead Scream!"

The Inner Senshi watched as the Outers attacked and then dodged, continually moving and attacking so as to disrupt and distract Li Che Yang. They could see the wizard was annoyed by their attacks, but he had the good sense to concentrate on deflecting Jupiter's lightning. Sailor Moon looked within herself, mentally asking the Silver Crystal for help. Her answer was a tightness in her chest reminiscent of the pain she felt trying to hold the chunk of asteroid together as it entered Earth's atmosphere and save her friends. She couldn't; not yet. She'd just have to trust the Outer Senshi this time.

* * *

Gert Tenoh was about to venture into his daughter's bedroom, but he stopped and knocked first. He never understood why it caused his daughter so much consternation when he ventured through her closed door without knocking first. He was her father and he had every right to go in when he chose. If she was hiding something, he had a right as her father to know. If she wasn't hiding anything, she had nothing to worry about. But it was a sore subject between them, as so many things seemed to be anymore, and the thought of arguing with his dearest child wasn't worth it just to be right. Better he should just knock.

"Yeah?" he heard Junko call out.

"I was just checking on you," Gert said as he peeked in the room. Junko was at her computer. "I heard voices."

"It's the computer, Dad," Junko told him, glancing over her shoulder. "I found a video brochure on line for Niigata University and I was just looking over the campus. You must have heard the narration."

"Ah," nodded Gert. Just to be sure, he leaned in and saw a rolling picture of a well-kept college campus. "So you think you're going to like it there?"

"It looks nice," Junko offered.

"You know, you could still go to a school here in Tokyo," Gert suggested. "Live here a little longer."

"With my test scores?" Junko asked. "Tokyo University is definitely out."

"There are other schools," Gert began.

"Niigata is fine. The school has a nice reputation and it looks like a good place," Junko told him. "And it'll be nice to be out on my own. I have to start sometime. Haruka . . ."

"Ah!" Gert scowled and raised his hand. "Don't bring her into this. Fine, if it's what you want, you do it and be happy. Just remember, you'll always have a place here."

"I know," Junko smiled.

Gert nodded and backed out of the room. When the door was closed, Junko clicked on her computer. Thank the gods internet tabs had been invented. The scene on her monitor changed from the Niigata website to the live news stream she had been watching of events in Asahikawa. Junko watched with fascination and just a little anxiety as Sailor Pluto, Sailor Neptune and her sister, Sailor Uranus, battled the towering Chinese wizard, attacking and then darting away before his counterattacks could catch them. It was always a thrill to see Uranus in action. She moved with the speed of thought and when she stood still she stood with the proud defiance of a true champion.

Junko felt a familiar pang in her heart. Why couldn't she be a senshi, too? Uranus saved people. She affected change. Sure, a teacher could affect change, too, but not on the scale that Sailor Uranus and the Senshi could. Being a teacher was like wanting to fly to the moon and settling for piloting a hang glider. If only . . .

Something on her monitor made Junko sit bolt upright. A blue-white arc of energy swept out from the Chinese wizard. It fanned away from him and slammed into the three Outer Senshi, scattering them in all directions. The picture was chaos for a few moments as the news crew panned around, trying to find what had happened to the Senshi. It focused on the senshi Junko knew as Sailor Jupiter, but that wasn't where Junko was looking. Far in the background, framed between Jupiter and Li Che Yang, was Sailor Uranus. She was sprawled awkwardly on the pavement and struggled to rise up. And Junko found herself leaning forward, hands pressed between her legs to the chair.

"Come on, Haruka," Junko whispered fervently. "You can do it!"

Later she would wonder if she was saying this to convince Uranus or herself.

* * *

Seeing the Outer Senshi tossed away like dolls sent a wave of despair through the others. Sailor Moon tried to bring the Moon Tier to bear. It still felt like lead in her hands, but at least she could feel some of her power manifesting. Would it be enough?

Then Mercury acted. She rose to her feet, looming over Sailor Moon and Mars and Venus. Her expression was resolute. "There's no longer any point in waiting," Mercury stated.

"Max attack?" Venus asked.

"I doubt it will do much, but it has to be now," Mercury nodded. "Maybe it will be enough to give the Tiangu the opportunity to end this. I doubt Jupiter has any more time."

Mercury raised her hands and looked squarely at Li Che Yang. The wizard saw her out of the corner of his eye, but kept his attack focused on Jupiter.

"Sub-Zero Caress!" Mercury shouted.

The February cold of Asahikawa dropped forty degrees in a heartbeat. It was as if Mercury was sucking every ounce of heat energy from the air to power her attack. Water vapor from the breath of everyone in the area crystallized and fell to the ground. A blast of water sprayed across the distance between Sailor Mercury and Li Che Yang. It caught him chest high, enveloped his arms and upper torso, then flash froze into solid ice ten meters thick. Momentarily immobilized, the wizard snarled in frustration.

"Ice begone!" roared Yang, invoking his supernatural power. The ice faded to mist in seconds. But it was seconds Yang couldn't afford to sacrifice.

"An opening!" proclaimed Jupiter. Her head flew back and she called down a massive bolt of lightning.

The bolt struck Li Che Yang dead on, piercing his chest and seizing his body. The sorcerer shook as if a gigantic hand was flailing him, trying to separate his head from his body. A booming cry of agony rose up over the tremendous thunder clap and rolled over the length and breath of the ruins of Asahikawa. He reared back, still impaled by the bolt of lightning, and began to shimmer. The bolt spent itself and disappeared. So did Li Che Yang. His form started to swirl, then spin into a whirlpool of color as it was drawn back into The Urn Of The Ages. Bereft of support, The Urn plummeted to the ground, bounced two times and came to rest on the sidewalk next to a trash can.

"I-Is he gone?" Sailor Moon asked as Mars and Venus struggled to their feet.

Jupiter walked over to The Urn and picked it up. She cradled it in her hands as she walked over to Sailor Moon.

"He is gone, trapped once again in the tomb of his own making - - a victim of his own ambition and avarice for power," Jupiter said, smiling with malicious satisfaction. She handed The Urn to Sailor Moon. "I would ask a favor of you, human: Guard this well and let no one else invoke its power. In return, I will restore your city to what it was."

"C-Certainly," whispered Sailor Moon. She was in shock at what Jupiter looked like. Her skin was ashen and her face was deeply lined and drawn. Jupiter looked more like a walking corpse than the friend and teammate Sailor Moon knew.

Giving The Urn to Sailor Moon, Jupiter turned and with a sweep of her hand restored the buildings on the east city of the city that had been leveled. A sweep of her other hand restored the buildings on the west side. She turned back to Sailor Moon.

"Your structures are restored and all who died within them live again," Jupiter said. She smirked devilishly. "It is my final slap at the accursed human Li Che Yang, to undo everything he has done. Let him twist in agony with the knowledge that I can erase his every effort with but a gesture, even from the grave, as I have through the many centuries." She grew serious. "But remember our bargain, human. Guard The Urn and do not let it be invoked again, for I am weary and wish to remain at rest."

"I will," Sailor Moon nodded. Then she reached out and clutched Jupiter's hand. "One more thing: Please restore Sailor Jupiter to what she was."

Jupiter's expression grew cold. "That was not part of our bargain, human."

"But," Sailor Moon sputtered, alarmed, "but she'll die!"

"Then let her die," Jupiter shrugged. "What is the life of a human to me?"

A blue-white, almost imperceptible light shot away from Sailor Jupiter. Jupiter's expression changed, indicating the Tiangu spirit had vacated her body. She became Jupiter again. Then her eyes rolled up in her head and she slumped to the ground, to the sound of Sailor Moon's terrified shriek.

Concluded in Chapter 11


	11. A Life In The Balance

THE URN OF THE AGES  
Chapter 11: "A Life In The Balance"  
A Sailor Moon fanfic

By Bill K.

* * *

Jupiter's expression changed, indicating the Tiangu spirit had vacated her body. She became Jupiter again. Then her eyes rolled up in her head and she slumped to the ground, to the sound of Sailor Moon's terrified shriek.

Immediately Mercury rushed to her side. Venus and Mars looked on anxiously, while the Outer Senshi ran up. In the distance, vehicles could be heard. Venus glanced over and saw the Japanese Defense Force troops arriving. Jupiter's senshi form faded, leaving Makoto Kino Ikegami behind. Makoto began coughing, struggling to breathe.

"She needs immediate hospitalization!" Mercury declared. Looking up from her patient, Mercury searched in vain for an ambulance or vehicle. Sailor Moon moved in, her body beginning to glow silver.

"DUMPLING, NO!" yelled Sailor Uranus. She grabbed Sailor Moon and pulled her away from Makoto.

"LET ME GO!" screamed Sailor Moon. "SHE'S DYING! I HAVE TO HELP HER!"

"You can't!" Neptune practically ordered her. "Not in your condition! You're barely standing now! If you try to help her now, you'll only end up killing yourself!"

"BUT MAKO-CHAN WILL DIE!" Sailor Moon wailed.

"It's our job, Sailor Moon," Neptune stated frankly. "Hers and ours. We HAVE to protect you, even at the cost of our own lives!"

Sailor Moon stared wide-eyed at Neptune and it tore both of them up to remain firm in the face of it.

"And what am I supposed to tell her children?" Sailor Moon sobbed. "That I stood here and let their mother die so that I could live?"

Neptune's lip quivered. "Yes," she croaked out. "It's a decision a leader sometimes has to make."

"Somebody get me a vehicle of some sort!" Mercury demanded. Instantly Venus bolted for the nearest Defense Force land rover.

Sailor Moon tried to pull out of the grip of Uranus, but the Senshi held on tight. It was Mars who saw it first. Running up, cape flowing in the wind, was Tuxedo Mask. It startled everyone, except Mercury who was engaged in exterior chest massage on Makoto and Uranus who kept her grip on Sailor Moon. Only when he arrived did Uranus let go.

"Tuxedo Mask. . . Mako-Chan. . .! I need to get her, help her. . .!"

"She's too drained," Uranus warned him. Gently he took possession of her from Uranus.

"Borrow some of mine," he said to her tenderly. "Take what you need from me."

And he bent in and kissed her. As they kissed, the pair seemed to glow, their auras a swirl of gold and silver. Sailor Moon's form shimmered and suddenly she was Princess Serenity. Their mouths parted. As her form changed, so did his. He was no longer Tuxedo Mask. He was Mamoru Chiba again.

"Just be safe," Mamoru said, caressing her cheek.

"Thank you," Serenity whispered.

She glided over to Makoto and crouched over her. The two faded from view like a dream in the dawn, leaving Mercury behind to stare in wonder.

In the emergency room of Asahikawa Municipal Hospital, a startled nurse gasped audibly, then ran out from behind her desk, calling for assistance. On the floor were two women that hadn't been there a second ago. The one with brown hair was in obvious severe cardiopulmonary distress, while the strange little blonde draped over her was limp and unconscious.

* * *

Eyelids fluttered open. Usagi looked around the room in confusion. This wasn't her bedroom. Her hand reached up and tried to brush away the thing irritating her nostrils. That's when she noticed the tube injected in the vein in her wrist.

"I made it," she whispered and noticed how hoarse her voice was. "I wonder if Mako-Chan made it."

Usagi began to struggle to get up, but she was too weak. It was then that she saw Mamoru in the doorway. Rei was behind him.

"You're not going anywhere for a while," Mamoru advised her. Gently he pushed her shoulders back down to the bed.

"Mako-Chan?" Usagi asked desperately.

"Resting comfortably," Mamoru told her and Usagi relaxed considerably. "She's probably going to be laid up even longer than you, though. She suffered major cardiac stress."

"But she'll be fine, right?" Usagi asked.

"Yes," Rei said. "Ami thinks her senshi form is what saved her - - that and a quick trip to the emergency room."

"I want to visit her," Usagi demanded.

"Not just yet," Mamoru advised her.

"But Mamo-Chan," Usagi whined.

Rei shoved forward, into her face. "You nearly killed yourself getting her here, you little idiot!" Rei snapped. "Give yourself a chance to recover."

"Was it that bad?"

"You had some cardiac stress yourself, Usako," Mamoru told her. "More than I'm comfortable with. You're going to need a little time, too."

"OK," Usagi pouted. Then she tensed. "The Urn! What happened to it?"

"I've got it," Rei assured her. "I'll keep it at the shrine."

"I'd rather keep it myself, Rei," Usagi said. "At least after I get out of here." She saw the questioning looks in the faces of Rei and Mamoru. "I made a promise."

"Good enough," Rei replied. Then she smirked. "Just don't use it as a paper weight, feather head." Usagi stuck out her tongue.

"I wonder when dinner is," Usagi mused. That brought smiles to her company. "Oh, has anybody called Baishaku-Sama? This is absolutely going to kill my deadlines!"

"She nearly kills herself and all she can worry about is her deadlines," Rei muttered.

* * *

In another section of the hospital, Akiko Ikegami burst through the door and went tearing to her mother's bedside. Her brother, Ichiro, wasn't far behind her, while Sanjuro pulled up the rear. Ami got up from her chair next to Makoto's bedside and eased toward the door. She and Sanjuro exchanged nods before Ami exited.

"Mom, I saw you on TV!" Akiko exclaimed. "You kicked that guy's butt!"

"Akiko," Makoto whispered a sigh, as much from frustration as from the gigantic fatigue she felt. "No man is ever going to want to marry you," she exhaled, "with a mouth like that."

"I bet Akira-Sensei will," the girl smirked. Rolling her eyes, Makoto looked over to her son, who was standing to Akiko's right. It was then she noticed the fear and dread in the child.

"Champ?" Makoto said with as much volume as she could muster. A weak hand reached out and placed itself on Ichiro's shoulder.

"Mom," Ichiro whimpered. "Please don't be Sailor Jupiter anymore."

Makoto's eyes shifted to her husband, who returned her helpless look with one of his own.

"She can't, Ichiro," Akiko told the boy sternly. "Mom has to be Sailor Jupiter."

"Why?" Ichiro almost wailed.

"Because somebody has to stand up to the bad men, and she can do it better than anybody," Akiko told him. "We all have to stand up to bad people any way we can. Otherwise the bad people win."

Makoto's hand moved up and stroked Akiko's hair. Akiko turned and smiled at her and at that moment Makoto didn't think she could feel any prouder of her daughter.

"Akiko's right, Champ," Makoto exhaled. "You can't let bad people just run over innocent people. You have to stand up to them. And sometimes you're going to get hurt doing it. It's not easy." She placed her hand back on Ichiro's shoulder to get his attention. "Some people have died doing it. It could happen to me one day. And that's really going to hurt you, and I'm sorry for that. But people need heroes . . . to fight for them when . . . they can't fight for themselves. And I've always felt . . . that it's better to die a hero . . . than to live as a coward."

Ichiro stared at her, digesting this. Then he lowered his gaze.

"Yes, Mom," he said. Makoto weakly stroked his black hair, for she wasn't quite certain he actually agreed with her. Then a wave of weakness and fatigue washed over her.

"I'm sorry, kids," Makoto breathed heavily. "I don't mean to cut your visit short, but I think my medicine is kicking in. Don't be scared if I konk out on you."

"That's all right, Sleeping Beauty," Sanjuro said, leaning over and kissing her. "We understand."

As Sanjuro and Ichiro went to get more chairs to pull over to Makoto's bedside, Akiko leaned over and grasped her mother's hand.

"Mom," Akiko whispered. Makoto could see the girl's eyes beginning to water. "Be more careful next time, huh?"

"Sure, Kiddo," Makoto smiled tenderly.

* * *

Back in Tokyo, Haruka was escorting Junko around the mall. Junko was shopping for a new wardrobe for college and Haruka was secretly hoping to pay for part of it to impress her sister.

Junko was hoping the same thing. And it was one of the last times they could get together before Junko went off to college and Haruka was back on the Formula-1 circuit with Michiru.

"So, Haruka, you've got a guy's tastes," Junko said, modeling a dress against her growing body. "Think I can catch a guy's interest with this?"

"Sorry," Haruka shied. "I'm too close to the subject. All I see is my kid sister in a short skirt."

"You're no help!" frowned Junko. She put the dress back.

And Haruka found herself staring at Junko as the girl leafed through the rack of dresses. And she found herself flashing back to that day they first met, Junko standing at the front door to her home, mad as a hornet and at the same time curious about the sister she hadn't known about until that moment. And Haruka found herself missing the years before that meeting, years that she'd missed because of the strife between herself and her - - their - - parents, and wanting those years back.

"Haruka?" Junko inquired.

"Huh? I'm sorry, kid. Must have zoned," Haruka shook herself. Junko grinned.

"You had a moment, didn't you?" she smirked.

"What are you talking about?"

"A moment!" Junko persisted. "An 'Ach, mein kinder is growing up' moment. Dad gets them all the time anymore. I don't think he or Mom has fully accepted the fact that I'm eighteen and going out on my own. And that look means you haven't, either."

"I'm down with it," Haruka bluffed, shrugging diffidently. "You juiced for it?"

"Yeah," Junko nodded. Then she sobered. "I guess a little part of me is scared. Scared I'll flop and have to come back. Not that I don't like living with Mom and Dad. But the thought of flaming out," and Junko trailed off. But after a few moments of reflection, her confidence surged. "Which I'm not going to do. I will do this. I will graduate and be the best teacher I can be."

"That's the spirit," Haruka nodded wistfully.

"Or I'll meet a rich, handsome guy, marry him and live a life of luxury and ease," Junko shrugged with a smile.

Haruka just shook her head.

* * *

Days passed. Makoto was still hospitalized and would be for another month. But Usagi was finally strong enough to be discharged. While Mamoru tended to the release forms, Ami visited with Usagi.

"Now you're certain you feel fine?" Ami asked as Usagi gathered her things. "No dizziness? Chest pains?"

"Amiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii!" whined Usagi. "I'm finally going to be FREE! Don't spoil it for me!" She smirked. "Besides, do you know how many of these questions I'm going to have to listen to from Luna?"

"I apologize, Usagi," Ami offered. "I'm only concerned."

"And you shouldn't be," Usagi admonished her. "You should be more concerned about your wedding. There's so many things to do and we only have half the time now!"

"You needn't concern yourself in that respect," Ami said. "There - - isn't going to be a wedding. At least, not yet."

Usagi whirled on her friend and stared in horror.

"Ami," she gasped. "Did you and Hayami have a fight?"

"Nothing like that," Ami assured her. "It's just - - after what happened here, Hayami told me he needs more time to assess whether he can deal with being married to - - someone in our line of work - - psychologically. I quite understand. It's a terrible emotional burden for the spouse to deal with. Seeing the turmoil Makoto's family is currently going through has made me question whether I should enter into such a relationship . . ."

"No!" Usagi said, grabbing Ami by the upper arms. "You can't be afraid or reluctant! Love is a wonderful thing! It can help you get through times like these! It can even make your bond stronger! Please reconsider!"

"It's been decided, Usagi," Ami stated. "We're going to give it six months. If we feel we should marry by then, or at any time before that, we will. If at six months we still feel doubts and conflict," and Ami glanced down a moment before looking at Usagi again, "well, we'll still be friends." Usagi wanted to argue. "I know this is difficult for you to accept. And I know how much you were looking forward to planning my wedding. But it's for the best. Better Hayami and I ask these questions before we commit than after."

"This is a mistake," Usagi said, dejected. "But at least you're not closing the door on it. But don't think I'm going to let either of you get away from each other. I got you two together and I'm going to keep you two together."

"Usagi," Ami sighed. Usagi held up her hand.

"It's been decided, Ami," Usagi proclaimed, imitating her friend. Ami's mouth curled. "And in the mean time, I can go to work on Shingo."

* * *

Usagi and Mamoru got out of the elevator and headed for their apartment. Mamoru had his arm around his wife's waist, as much to support her as anything. Usagi knew this, but didn't protest, because she liked feeling his arm around her waist.

"I can't believe you drove all the way up to Asahikawa," clucked Usagi. Then she smiled. "But I'm glad you did."

"So am I - - for Makoto's sake as well as yours," he said, then glanced warmly at her, "and mine."

Usagi let out a little squeal and nuzzled in next to him. It was then that they noticed a person sitting by their apartment door. She was dressed inexpensively, favoring denim and faux leather, and had short-cropped black hair. An artist's portfolio rested in her lap and her head rested on the edge of it.

"Look, Mamo-Chan," Usagi pointed. "I wonder who she is."

"Narita-San?" Mamoru said.

"You know her?"

With that, Sanoko stirred. When she realized Mamoru and Usagi were back, she hastily scrambled to her feet and bowed, clutching the portfolio with both hands.

"Forgive me!" she blurted out. "I wanted to drop these off, but nobody was home. And I didn't want to take them back home and risk something happening to them, so I, um, waited for you to get back. I hope that's all right!"

"How long have you been here?" Mamoru asked.

"Oh, just a couple," Sanoko chuckled nervously, "hours."

"Well please, come in. Let us get you something to drink at least," Mamoru offered. He opened the apartment door and escorted Sanoko in, with Usagi staring in utter disbelief.

"Thanks, but I don't want to impose," Sanoko said. Then she hesitated. "You don't have any Diet Coke, do you?"

"We carry a pretty wide selection," Mamoru grinned. Usagi was exhibiting a pleasant neutral grin. Suddenly she turned and clamped onto Mamoru's forearm.

"Mamo-Chan, who is this woman?" Usagi said, the grin frozen on her face but utter panic in her eyes.

Mamoru smiled. "This is the artist your friend sent over," he reminded her. "To help you with your deadline."

"I brought the finished pages, Chiba-Sempai," Sanoko said, presenting the portfolio. "I hope they're acceptable."

Still eying her warily, Usagi took the portfolio and opened it. But when she examined the pages, her face lit up like the sun at dawn.

"Oh my goodness!" she squealed. "If I didn't know better, I'd say I inked them myself! These are wonderful!"

"I'm glad you're pleased," Sanoko bowed again. "I tried to mimic your style as best I could. I figured I ought to."

"Thank you, um. . ." Usagi began.

"Sanoko Narita," Sanoko bowed again. "Thank you for giving me the chance."

Usagi turned again to Mamoru, clamping onto his forearm, still smiling, but her eyes once more filled with panic.

"You didn't tell me she was this pretty," Usagi murmured through clenched teeth.

"I figured you'd be more interested in her work," Mamoru replied. He looked over Usagi's shoulder to Sanoko. "Thank you once again, Narita-San. You've been a great help to my wife. Let me write you a check."

As Mamoru went to get his check book, Usagi looked over the finished pages once again.

"These are really beautiful," she nodded. "You're very talented."

"It was an honor working on them, Chiba-Sempai," Sanoko told her. "You're a great artist and 'Fire Princess Rika' is just so interesting."

"Thank you," Usagi nodded. "I just hope it doesn't disappoint too many people when it doesn't appear. I am SO late on my deadlines!"

"I could help!" volunteered Sanoko.

"Y-You could?" Usagi replied. She didn't seem entirely thrilled by the news.

"I don't have any assignments right now. In fact, this ink job paid my rent for the next month. I could help you out: ink, do backgrounds, erase, anything you need!"

"You can?" Usagi replied.

"I think that's a wonderful idea," Mamoru said, handing the check to her.

"You would," rumbled Usagi, glaring at him.

"You already said you like her inking. There's no sense killing yourself trying to make a deadline when Narita-San can help out - - especially after your, um, accident."

Usagi's shoulders slumped. "You're right. Even if I didn't sleep for a week, I'd never make the deadline." She turned to Sanoko. "I'd be very grateful if you could help me out with this problem, Narita-San."

"I'll do it!" beamed Sanoko. "If you want, I'll even work here, by your side, so we can get . . .!"

"NO!" gasped Usagi. "Um, you really should work at home," and she paused for a moment, seemingly searching for something, "so, um, you'll be more comfortable! And you'll ink better!" In the back of the room, Luna watched this scene with a sour look.

"Really, it's no trouble, Chiba-Sempai," Sanoko said.

"No, you should work at home," Usagi said, herding the woman toward the door. "I don't have an extra board, anyway, and the place is too cramped and we'd just get in each other's way. You should definitely work at home!"

"Um, OK," Sanoko stammered. "Um, when should I come by for the first pages?"

"I'll call you," Usagi said, opening the door.

"Ok," Sanoko said. "Do you want my number?"

Grabbing a piece of paper, Usagi shoved it at Sanoko. The woman scribbled her number, then backed out the door.

"Thank you for this chance, Chiba-Sempai," Sanoko reiterated. Then she waved at Mamoru. "It was nice seeing you again, Chiba-San!" The door closed. Usagi immediately whirled and glared at Mamoru.

"Honestly, Usagi, you get more ridiculous every day," grumbled Luna as she headed for the kitchen, tail in the air.

"What?" Mamoru asked as Usagi continued to glare.

"You-didn't-tell-me-she-was-pretty!" Usagi huffed.

"Is she? I hadn't noticed," Mamoru replied.

"Yes, I'm sure," Luna commented acidly.

CONCLUSION


End file.
